Light In My Darkness
by Axathr
Summary: A story of a loner with a dark past and an extremely amiable legendary, become close and eventually get thrown into a grand adventure. This story is rated M and will include lemons.. Please review! OCxSuicune NEW NOTE: This story is under crossovers from now on! I also have Ryker/Alpha as a cover. It's his head but sorry if the horns are hard to see. Wings are folded in on left.
1. Prologue

**Hey guys! Thanks for deciding to read this fic and for giving me a chance. I'm new so this is my first one. The rating will be T but I'm open for any suggestions any of you as have and will change the rating if I need to. Oh and when you review, be blunt. I want to know if I'm doing well! Anyways, on to the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon.**

 **Prologue**

The forest was breathtaking. The trees were lined with the occasional Caterpie and the floor was covered with life, big and small. The forest was the one place Ryker can relax and call home. As he walked down the worn path, he reflected about the past week. A few days prior, he managed to break his record in running. Six miles in twelve minutes was his new record, one he was proud of. Born on December 9th, he had a medium build without having too much muscles. His hair was long but only reached to the bottom of his neck. His face was quite handsome though the most remarkable feature about him was most likely his eyes. Far away, they looked grey but up close, they are really a white color with the pupil being the only thing to help distinguish his irises from the flesh of the eyes. He wore a t-shirt that was specially made for him and black jeans. Both adapts to his size when he grows. And to top it all off, he was 6 ft. 2 in. To the left of him, Mt. Moon can be seen which was only about a twenty minute walk from where he was. And so, he started his way towards his cave at the summit of Mt. Moon. You see, Ryker didn't live with the rest of the people in the region of Kanto. He did finish school though and was pretty smart above human standards. He was a loner, someone who didn't give a Rattata's ass about others. It was nothing personal, but he had a reason why.

(flashback)

"Ryker, get away from the door!" The Fang house was aflame, set by the villagers of the town. Ryker's mother motioned him over to the trapdoor leading to a tunnel that would eventually end at the edge of Viridian. "Go now son, the villagers will eventually break in and I doubt the door will be able to hold up much longer!" Ryker looked at his father whose hair was disheveled then to his mother who gave him pleading look. Ryker exclaimed, "But father, the three of us can fight them off easy! We just need to transf-..." He trailed off when he saw the look his parents gave him. He then hung his head low in defeat. "Son, you know that we will only fuel their fear and hatred for us. Humans fear what they cannot comprehend and that includes the three of us and your younger brother. Right, Midnight?" As if on cue, the aforementioned youngling boy began to cry in his mother's arms. "Your father is right dear. It would only makes things worse unfortunately." Answered Midnight. As soon as she finished that sentence, part of the house caved in on them, but not before Ryker's father pushed him in the tunnel. Ryker looked ahead, the tunnel entrance he came through was blocked off. "Shadow! Where's our son?!" screamed Midnight. "Below, we must make haste and lea-..." His father, Shadow, was cut of as a tremor shook the tunnels Ryker was in. Sounds of glass breaking and wood splintering could be heard above him. Then, silence. Ryker tried to listen for sounds but it was in vain. With worry and concern tugging at his heart, he ran towards the end of the tunnel. By the time he got out and reached his house, the villagers were still there so he had in the trees. He watched from afar with horror as they beat his family, slashing them as they simply took the attacks without fighting back. This went on for a good several minutes then the villagers left, cheering in victory. He left his hiding spot and ran over into the house. His house was on its last legs and the fire was still eating up all the wood, whatever remained of it. "Mother, Father! Do you hear me?!" Ryker yelled. There was no reply. He walked over to where the kitchen used to be and suddenly stopped in his tracks. Below his feet, was the bruised and mangled remains of his family. His brother had blood leaking from the mouth and didn't breath though he looked strangely pale already and something seemed off about him but he couldn't look any longer, turning to his mother. His mother's eyes were wide open with surprise though they were unfocused and empty. "Son..." Ryker quickly turned around to see his father who was underneath a dresser. Shadow informed his son, "It looks like you will be the last of species. Promise me you won't let it die out. Promise me..." Ryker couldn't speak, I mean, who could after going through all that? But before he got the chance to reply, his father's eyes rolled to the back of his head. Ryker stood there for Arceus knows how long. Then, with a faced covered with tears but drained of emotion, he turned around and let the area without turning back. Doing so, he feared it would keep him from leaving. However, he did eventually came back only to put his family's corpses to rest, setting fire to them like what people would do to dead royalty...

(present)

When Ryker reached the mouth of the cave, he sat down and unpacked. On the cave floor were two hunting knives, a hunting bow, and a gutted Magikarp. He looked at the pile of wood in the center of the cave and instantly there was a brilliant white flame with a dark hue. The flame hungrily ate at the firewood as Ryker prepared the now dead fish in front of him. Oh right, Ryker has complete mastery of summoning flames. _I wish I had some deer, pokémon or not._ To his left, the air shimmered and he was suddenly blinded by a golden flash. "What do you want to tell me this time Lady Arceus? You can't persuade me and I already told you no countless times." He said with a hint of annoyance.

The glow died down and a white stag stepped forward with a cocked eyebrow AN:(Does Arceus have eyebrows?). _My offer still stands Fang, what say you?_ Ryker didn't even flinch as her voiced boomed in his head.

"Let me say it once more, no." Arceus wasn't fazed by his bluntness. "I will not join and I do not want you to ask me to again milady." He felt guilt for talking to her like that but didn't show it. Arceus stared at him for a while and eventually she disappeared.

 _When you want to become part of my Council, you know who to contact._ Ryker sighed as she left that message in his head.

Night fell and Ryker came back from his shower in the waterfall nearby. He dried off his hair and plucked out the small strand that was lying on the bridge of his nose. He shook his head as if silently wishing he had shorter hair. He moved over to the little bowl in the cave floor that he made by melting down a circular portion of the floor. It was covered with leaves and cushioned branches that was about eight feet in length and about six feet in width. He laid down and closed his eyes, hoping to get a good night's sleep. Next thing he knew, an explosion went off near the mountain and the roof of the cave started to drop stalactites AN: (Or stalagmites?) He bolted upright and looked to over to the west. He made out what looked like four pokémon. Three were in the air and had long tails complete with crazy hairdos and maniacal grins. Their eyes had dark malicious intent to them. One was blue, the other green, and the last was brown. Ryker looked at the fourth pokemon who fired an **Ice Beam** at its attackers. The attack had hit home and the brown pokémon was no longer in the air but crashed into a boulder with a sickening thud.

 **Mystery Pokémon's POV**

Aurora dodged a **Weather Ball** and leaped to cover behind a huge boulder. _Damn, Thunderus and Tornadus are pretty relentless._ She looked over to where the brown pokémon lay. It didn't move an inch but was breathing, barely. _Looks like Landerus is out for the count. But then again I did have a type advantage._ she thought grimly.

 _Might as well give up Suicune! Just calmly do as we say and we will leave as soon as we finish "taking care" of you._ Tornadus said with a sinister chuckle. Thunderus remained silent bit like his brother, he had a wide grin. Aurora clenched her eyes shut thinking of making a distraction to escape. But she gave up and prepared to surrender.

 _What did I do to deserve this?_ she thought, tears running down the side of her face. She stepped out and glared at the two weather pokémon. The said pokémon laughed triumphantly and started to float closer. Just before Tornadus made contact with Aurora, he was suddenly propelled back into a tree by a flying kick. Thunderus eyes widened in shock but was quickly angered.

 _You dare interfere with my plans human?! Do you know who I am?! I am Thunderus and I promise you that there will be thunder storms coming your way!_ Aurora looked up at her savior who was getting into a battle position.

 _Silver hair? Wait a minute. Human, what do you think you are doing? This is none of your business and you don't have to get yourself involved so leave!_ She screamed the words into his head but grunted as one of her many slash wounds made contact with a branch sticking out of the side of a tree. The human looked back at her, than did the unexpected. He quickly turned back around and punched Thunderus in his face, breaking a few fangs.

 _I will tell you once._ he mentally told Thunderus as said legendary recovered from the punch. _Leave now and we won't have a problem._ He looked at Thunderus with a glare that could kill. Thunderus sneered at the human then picked up his companions.

 _We'll be back!_ he said as the three vanished from sight.

The human turned around and relaxed. He looked at Aurora and her wounds asking, "Are you alright?" out loud. Aurora nodded and the human released a breath of relief. He then inspected her wounds. "You will bleed out if we don't do something about those." He walked over to her but stopped abruptly when he was about a foot away. "Do I have permission to touch you?" he asked? Aurora thought for a moment, momentarily surprised by what he asked. Sure it was a good thing since she didn't liked to be touched but can she trust him?

 _He did stopped the weather trio so I'll trust him for now._ She looked at him nodded but asked him something she was curious about. _Why did you help me? You could have ran away to avoid trouble._

He looked at Aurora with reassuring eyes and told her, "It's not in my nature to walk away like that. Plus, a certain someone would probably be mad at me if I did." while thinking about Arceus. After that, he said no more. Aurora however, didn't catch that he was a quiet person and that he preferred not to talk.

 _Well, you have my thanks Mr.?_

The human looked into her eyes for a moment. _I shouldn't give her my name. But she doesn't look like she would do any harm._ He then noticed how beautiful her eyes are. They weren't red but rich sapphire color. Her mane was blue as well. But the most noticeably anomaly on her was that her fur was a snow white color as well as the crest. The diamond patterns are also white but was bordered with blue. _Beautiful._ he thought. Aurora cleared her throat and he snapped out of his trance. "Alpha." he simply stated.

Aurora smiled and "Alpha" started to tend to her wounds. _My name is Aurora by the way and it's a pleasure to meet you Alpha._ Alpha merely nodded and handed her a few sitrus berries from a nearby tree. She gratefully accepted them and started to devour them. After a while, her cuts and bruises healed but she still felt sore and weak. Alpha got up and stretched his back after crouching for too long.

"You should not walk unless you want to strain your body. I recommend for you to rest until you can defend yourself again." Alpha said. Something clicked in Aurora's mind when she checked her surroundings.

 _Do you live here or are you a trainer? We're pretty far from civilization._

"I live in a cave on Mt. Moon's summit." was her answer. She was instantly filled with many questions in her head but suddenly started to feel drowsy. Her vision blurred and she passed out.

 **Ryker/Alpha's POV**

He looked at her sleeping body and decided to carry her to his cave. Luckily, she was in her Altered Form which reduces a legendary's size outside of battle. The body then reverts to Battle Form when the legendary feels threatened. He picked her up and made his way back to the cave. To him, she weighed like a feather and most would topple under her weight. But then again, he wasn't like most people, or ANY people for that matter. On his way, he managed to avoid a few trainers' line of sight as well as doing a few **Supersonic** attacks from the native Zubats. Aurora wasn't awakened though so she was on his back the whole time. He reached his cave and set her down on his sleeping spot. He looked at the sky and determined it was near midnight. Ryker decided to sleep since it was late and he was exhausted. He went to a wall and sat down while leaning on it. Once he got comfortable, he fell into a deep slumber of which resulted to be dreamless. What he didn't know was that Aurora was having a paradise-like dream.

 **Aurora's POV: Dreamscape**

 _Aurora was on a beach and the sun was setting with a red hue. Two small pups ran up to her. "Play with us mother! Please?!" Aurora smiled. "In a moment little ones." The pups wagged their tails in excitement and started to yip. Aurora looked to her right and was face to face with her mate. However, she can only see his paws but she didn't pay mind. "Will you be joining us dear?" she asked in a sweet voice. Her mate shifted and licked/kissed her on the face. "Of course I will." he said lovingly. The moment he said those words, the scene brightened to a brilliant white nothing._

 **Mystery Figure POV**

In a circular room which was white trimmed with golden, a white stag was watching the days events with an orb. It chuckled when it saw a certain individual's face when he looked at one of her subordinates. AN: (Hint hint, nudge nudge). The stag dispelled the orb and thought to itself. _If fate brings them together, he will definitely change for the better and he may change his mind about my offer. Lady Suicune seems to have the same reaction when she looked at him. If this keeps up,_ _he'll most likely join._ The stag smiled. _It won't be long Fang._

 **Characters**

 **Ryker Fang (M)**

 **Aurora North (F), Suicune**

 **Tornadus (M)**

 **Thunderus (M)**

 **Landerus (M)**

 **Arceus (F)**

 *** Mystery pups and mate**

 **Well what do you guys think? If it's good let me know and I'll make more chapters that will be longer if you like. Anyways, Aurora. What kind of Suicune is she? Not a shiny since her obvious anomalies. And what about Ryker? Tell me what you guys think about them and I'm also taking some suggestions for the plot. Remember, this is only the prologue and I'll accept any help writing this story. Please review!**

 **See you!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hello once again, I would like for you all to know that there will be a new chapter everyday...unless I forget, haha.** **Anyway, last time in Light In My Darkness, our main guy Ryker (who goes by Alpha by others) meets up with Aurora, a peculiar Suicune whose coloring is way off than it normally should be. She was attacked by the weather trio legendaries and Ryker/Alpha happens to save her in time. After bandaging up her wounds, Aurora passes out and Ryker/Alpha takes her to his cave.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, just my OC's.**

 **Chapter 1: New Feelings and a New Journey**

 **Aurora's POV**

Aurora opened up her eyes and yawned widely, revealing a set of intimidating canines. She looked around, blinking several times before seeing Alpha cooking a Remoraid in a fire pit in the center of the cave.

 _Where am I?_ she asked as she stretched her legs.

Alpha jolted when her voice resonated within his head without warning. He looked at her, rubbing his temples with a hint of annoyance that was barely noticeable.

"You are in my cave on Mnt. Moon. Here, I am sure you are hungry after sleeping for so long." He handed her the Remoraid. "I didn't know whether or not you like cooked or raw fish. I considered raw but I wanted to be safe and cooked it just in case."

She looked at him, silently thanking him and started to devour the Remoraid which tasted divine to her due to the fact she hadn't ate since the afternoon a day before. She looked outside and noticed it was sunset.

 _How long was I out?_ she asked her host.

Alpha started to bite into his own food, which was a medium sized Zigzagoon leg. The rest was sitting to the side, in an indent on the cave floor. Aurora then noticed he was eating the leg...raw.

"You were out like a Snorlax after I gave you those bandages and as you can see, it's sunset so you slept for a rather long time, about a whole day." Alpha replied monotonously. He looked at her face which was in shock then noticed she was staring at his food. "Would you like some? I have a bit left."

Aurora broke her gaze then directed her look at Alpha.

 _You are eating a leg... raw._ She told him though paused and thought to herself. _Wait, he's living in a cave and can hunt. It's not farfetched if he happened to devolve._

"I can hear your thoughts and I am perfectly civilized you know." he stated. "I happened to graduate high school with the highest grades before living out here." he added.

 _Sorry_ she replied.

Alpha just shrugged and said, "I happen to enjoy eating raw meat. I know what not to eat raw and I know how to tell if my prey has a disease."

Aurora was surprised but didn't show it. _How did you learn to talk telepathically and hear thoughts?_ she asked.

His mouth was full so he replied to her mentally. _Someone who was close me told me it was an ability I should have and I ended up mastering it like it to the point it was as easy as breathing._

 _Who was this person?_ was Aurora's reply. For a second, Alpha paled then composed himself as he swallowed the last bit of Zigzagoon.

"A great man who is no longer with us." he said, again in monotone. Unknown to Aurora, he was implying to his father. Aurora was silent for a bit. Suddenly, she jumped which made Alpha jump as well. "Is something wrong?" he asked. He looked around, trying to sense the threat.

Aurora was frozen and was detached to the world. _I remember, that dream... was that a vision?_ she thought to herself, making sure her thoughts were private and secure. She felt her face turn red as she remembered the three mystery figures in her dream. _Who were they? Definitely not human for sure..._

Alpha turned around and cocked an eyebrow. "Are you coming up with a fever?" he asked. He stopped and sniffed the air, which brought Aurora backed to reality.

 _Don't tell me, can he detect scents? I better calm down._ She composed herself and asked him another question. _Something wrong?_

Alpha stopped sniffing the air and looked at her. "Nothing, I just thought I smelled something that drastically grew in potency a second ago. Did you smell it?" That answered her question.

 _Nope._ was her reply.

She quickly changed the subject and asked another question. _How long do you think it will take for me to recover?_ hoping it would distract him.

"Not too long, maybe a few days at most." However, unfortunately for Aurora, he was putting two and two together in his mind. _Wait, it was her scent, I'm sure of it. I have to admit, she's pretty good at toning it down. But, why did her scent grow like that? Maybe a stray thought._

He walked over to Aurora and took another look at her healing wounds. "Definitely in a few days." he confirmed. "You will be fighting off other legendaries in no time. Speaking of which, why were those three after you?" he inquired. Aurora looked down at the cave floor, but she eventually replied to his question.

 _They were trying to um.. ravage me and they were always trying to for a while now._ Her face turned red again but this time she was also angry. Alpha swore he heard her mutter an oath saying something about ugly Houdini looking blobs of deformed Dittos.

Alpha sighed but told her, "Well, let's hope they won't try again today. Thankfully, it's almost nighttime and I doubt they would try something again tonight." Suddenly, as if Arceus was playing with him, Tornadus appeared out of nowhere and blasted Alpha to a stalagmite with a **Weather Ball**. The other two brothers appeared.

 _Alpha!_ Aurora screamed in shock. Thankfully he got up, his face covered with dust and a gash. He cracked his neck and dusted himself off. Now, it was Aurora's turn to hear a quiet vulgar oath.

 **Alpha/Ryker's POV**

"What are the three of you doing. in. my. home?" Alpha asked with venom in his words. The Weather Trio looked at him, mildly shocked that he stood up after that attack.

Landerus spoke up. _We are here for her and we are not letting you stop us._

Alpha looked around, taking in the situation. He looked at Aurora who was baring her fangs and at then at the intruders. _The cave is too small and will collapse if we have a battle. Plus, it's three to two and I don't think they will fall for another surprise attack again._ Alpha thought for another moment and finally decided to speak again. "Wait." he said. All four pokemon looked at him. "You don't want other pokemon to know that you three were defeated by a human like me right? How about you three kill me and leave Lady Islingr Suicune alone and promise to not go after her again? Unless of course you want her to tell other legendaries about what happened yesterday?"

The trio looked at each other before announcing in unison. _Deal and you cannot fight back._ Aurora tried to get up but failed. She looked at Alpha with pleading eyes, mentally telling him to just run away.

Alpha looked back at her and shook his head. "Deal." he answered. In a flash, the trio were upon him. Thunderus impaled one of Alpha's legs with one of his tale spikes and Alpha yelled out in pain. Smiling, Tornados rushed over and grabbed Alpha and threw him to the mouth of the cave and followed it with an **Air Slash** to Alpha's back before he landed. Landerus floated over and bit down hard on Alpha's shoulder. By then, Alpha mentally prepared himself to take any more attacks.

When the Weather Trio were finished, they charged a **Weather Ball** and blasted Alpha out of the cave. They looked and saw Alpha falling and finally turned around since they couldn't see him past the clouds that surrounded the summit of the mountain. Alpha fell and he closed his eyes, deciding if he should transform but casted the thought aside after remembering what his parents said. He decided to wait for the impact.

 **Aurora's POV**

Aurora was still, mouth agape with horror. She looked at the legendaries with a burning hatred. _You murderers! I swear I will kill you three before you can even circle Unova once!_ The air around them grew frigid and the Weather Trio shuddered. They took one look at Aurora and saw that she was dead serious. Sure enough, they fearfully flew away screaming for mercy. Aurora grew angry at the fact that they ran but quickly focused on the situation at hand.

With tremendous effort, she used **Recover** and found that she could at least move around again. She tried to use one of her attacks like **Ice Beam** but only produced a small amount of very cold water. _I have to find Alpha._ she thought. With determination that can rival a Shelgon's wish to fly, she trekked down the sound of the mountain in short leaps. Eventually she reached the base of the mountain and started her search for Alpha.

 _Please be ok. Please, please, please._ she thought. She searched and searched until the moon was up in the sky. Her hopes diminished and she walked with sorrow until she came across a river. She took a quick drink from the water but immediately spat it out. _Tastes bitter._ she thought. She looked at the river with focused eyes this time and noticed it was filled with a small amount of blood. Her eyes widened and she quickly purified the river with a touch of her paw. _Blood in the river?_ It finally clicked in her mind that the blood could belong to Alpha.

She searched within a mile radius of the river and eventually found a trail of blood and a couple of bloody handprints on the trees. Aurora's heart rate quickened rapidly as she followed the trail of blood which hopefully would lead to Alpha. It led to a small hill with a few trees, one of which was being leaned on.

A beaming smile formed on her face when she saw Alpha bandaging himself with some leaves from a Lum tree (which are very long and absorbent with some healing properties). Tears trailed down her face as she tackled Alpha onto his back who grunted in pain/surprise.

"A-Aurora?" he asked in confusion. Aurora looked up at his face as even more tears fell from her face.

 _I thought I lost you!_ she sobbed. _You are my only friend and I don't want anyone to happen to you so don't do that ever again Alpha!_ Alpha just sat back, very surprised by what she said. Then to Aurora's surprise, his face broke into the very first smile she had seen from him.

"You are my only friend too Aurora. Sorry for worrying you. I'll try not to do that again ok?"

This time, she smiled and got off him. _OK and sorry about tackling you and all._ She told him mareepishly. He looked at her and grinned which made her feel like she was melting. She quickly fixed her feelings and was about to offer to carry him but she fell to her side.

"Aurora?! Are you alright? They didn't attack you did they?" Alpha asked. She again guiltily smiled. He caught on. "Right, the only way you could've gotten to me was to climb down the mountain. You should have rested though." he added seriously. Another smiled came from Aurora and this time he felt himself growing warm. He composed himself afterwards and started to carry her back like the day before.

 _Shouldn't YOU rest?_ she asked. "I'm tougher than I look." was his reply. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." he added. _How did you not die after all that though?_ she asked.

He shrugged. "I got lucky and landed in the river. I also happen to know what plants and leaves have healing properties and those sort of things. I guess you can call me a survival master. And if you add the fact I've been living on my own since I was a kid, well, you get the idea."

Aurora nodded, understanding the information he told her. By the time they reached the cave again, they were both tired and ready to pass out. However, that didn't stop Alpha from being, well, Alpha.

He set her down and told her, "You must be hungry again, I'll go get us some food."

Before she can protest, he left. So, she decided to reflect on her thoughts of him. _He's really not what I thought he would be. I can definitely trust him though._ She sighed but smiled. _He is really handsome and pretty strong._ She thought about the moment when he walked in shirtless. _I didn't think people can get eight-packs. But then there is Mewtwo but he's a pokemon. A new legendary at that._ She stopped with a sudden realization. _Am I.. am I in love with Alpha?..._ However, she smiled. _I guess, I am. I hope Lady Arceus won't mind. But, love is love._ she dreamily thought. She quickly snapped out of it when she heard a familiar set of footsteps nearby.

"I got us a Skarmony which was wandering around. It's weird since they're not normally found here." Alpha announced. Aurora looked over to him and sure enough, there was a decent sized Skarmony on his shoulder.

 _I forgot to ask, how are you able to hunt so well?_ she asked. Alpha set the Skarmony down and proceeded to start a fire with flint without using his powers.

"I usually think 'Be the hunter, not the hunted.' The rest is just instincts."

 _Instincts?_ she thought. _Might as well be a Mightyena._

 **Arceus' POV**

 _Good guess but still very off._ Arceus thought. She dismissed the orb and went down the hall that led to an empty room which was reserved for someone. Inside was a large vacant space with nothing but darkness. _One day, this room will be yours again. I'll be waiting for that day Fang._ she thought to herself. She went over to the Room of Gatherings. _Just a little longer and they should be here._

 **Alpha's POV**

Inside the cave, they were relaxing with their hunger satisfied. Alpha got up and stretched a bit. "Need anything else?" he asked. Aurora smiled but shook her head. He nodded and went over to his side of the cave. When Aurora was looking the other way, he quickly changed out of his traveling clothes and into his sleeping ones which was just a black T-shirt and shorts. He then lay down against the wall of the cave polishing his teeth with his tongue AN(You'll understand later). "Goodnight Aurora." he said while rubbing his knee which was sore.

 _'night Alpha_ she replied. Alpha frowned. He thought to himself for a moment and came to a decision.

"Just call me Ryker, it's my real name. I should have realized from the start that I could trust you Aurora. I'm sorry." Aurora looked over to him and to his surprise, smiled.

 _It's nice to officially meet you Ryker. I can understand that you don't want strangers to know your actual name. Don't worry, if anyone comes by, I'll call you Alpha to keep your identity secret. Oh, and thanks for warming up to me, friend._ As she said that, she got over and laid down next to him.

Ryker flushed because of the sudden closeness but on the inside, he didn't mind. "Thanks Aurora." he quietly said. He closed his eyes and much to his pleasure, Aurora happily hummed a beautiful tune which helped him relax and eventually fall asleep. A while later, Aurora fell asleep as well, happy to know that he considered her a close friend.

 **The Hall of Origin**

 _Open your eyes you two._ Arceus said in an amused tone. Ryker and Aurora opened their eyes and were shocked to find themselves in the company of Lady Arceus.

"Why are we here Jeanne?" Ryker asked angrily. Aurora looked at them.

 _You two know each other? And your name is Jeanne?_ she asked. Still surprised Ryker called Arceus by her name. Arceus answered her.

 _Yes Lady Suicune. I've known Alpha since he was a pu- er a child._

They looked at Ryker who rolled his eyes at Arceus. "Look, I already turned down your offer many times milady and my answer doesn't change now. I am NOT being part of the Legendary Council, I'm not even a pokemon!" Ryker told her. Aurora sat back, curious but wanted to see how this predicament turns out.

 _You can calm down Fang. I only wanted to ask a favor._ Arceus replied. Ryker held his tongue and waited for her explanation. _I want you two to go on a quest. There has been a large output of darkness somewhere in the universe and I want you two to stop it._

Ryker and Aurora were surprised but considered her favor. "Gives me something to do but Aurora still needs to recover and I can't decide for her whether or not she wants to go." Ryker said.

 _I don't mind but I want some more information on what we will be doing._ Aurora piped up.

Arceus smiled. _Her wounds will be fully healed when the two of you wake up so you don't have to worry. As for the quest, it's in a different dimension but the world's fate depends on whether or not you succeed. Will you accept this task?_ Aurora nodded and looked at Ryker who reluctantly nodded as well. _I knew I can count on you two. Anyways, you two will be sent to an area called Twilight Town where you will help a boy on his journey to fight Darkness. Before that, Alpha, you will take a trial that I cannot fill you in about. Aurora, when he takes this trial, he will look like he is sleeping so I need you to watch him._ Aurora nodded.

"What happens if I fail to pass the trail?" Ryker asked.

 _I cannot answer that._ Arceus replied gravely.

Ryker sighed but asked, "When do we start?" Before he got an answer, he and Aurora woke up. Aurora got up and stretched once she realized she was fully recovered.

She looked at Ryker who said, "I know you probably have some questions about me and Lady Arceus but all I'm going to say is that she knows of my... history and that I helped her on multiple occasions. I'll give you all the details when we get back OK?" Aurora nodded in agreement and yawned as a portal opened up in front of them.

 **Author's Note**

 **Characters:**

 **Ryker Fang, (m), human?**

 **Aurora North, (f), Suicune**

 **Jeanne, (f), Arceus**

 **Thunderus, Tornadus, Landerus, (m)**

 **Chapter One! How was it? For those who might know what will happen next, I'm letting you know, this story is not a crossover. Arceus basically senses disasters in other dimensions and she hires our two main characters to deal with them. Oh, I meant to reveal why Aurora is the way she is but I will here's do that in the next chapter. Here's what I may include in the series (spoilers).**

 **Legend of Spyro**

 **Legend of Zelda**

 **Skyrim**

 **S. A. O.**

 **Eragon (Inheritance series)**

 **Drakengard**

 **Tell me if you guys like one of those or if you have if another idea in mind. Or, it could be a normal Poke League journey in one of the regions. Anyways, please keep reading and please be patient for later chapters.**

 **See you guys later!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Note**

 **So, last time in Light In My Darkness, the Weather Trio attacks Ryker and Aurora again and nearly succeeded (or not?) in killing Ryker. Afterwards, Arceus appears in their dreams and now our favorite duo are embarking on a quest in another dimension! In this chapter, more about Aurora's origin will be revealed as well as some of Ryker's. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 2: The Trial and Twilight Town**

 **Dark Mental Plane**

Ryker looked around, seeing nothing but darkness. When he looked down, he realized that he was standing on a glass floor with a huge image of a boy holding a large key. Ryker jumped as a voice invaded his mind.

 _You are here for a trial to determine you are fit to conquer the darkness that is spreading throughout the worlds. However in your case, you seem to be one with darkness but it is in your control which is rare. I only know of one other who can control it like you but he is... lost for now._

"Well I'm different so you don't have to worry about me losing control. Let's just get on with the trial already." Ryker said wearily.

Suddenly, three podiums rose from the ground, one with a sword, another with a shield, and the last with a staff.

 _You must choose a path as well as give up another. The sword is the path of the warrior which provides you with courage if you don't have any already and the ability to fend off evil. The shield is the path of the defender which gives you the power to be a guardian for others. The staff is the path of the mage of mystic and ruin which gives those who seek absolute control power. Which path will you choose and which will you give up?_ stated the voice. Ryker walked up to the sword and absorbed it and went over to the wand and banished it. _Is this the path you want?_

"Yes." Ryker announced.

 _You have chosen the path of the warrior and have given up the path of the mage. The path of the defender will be your sub-path and will give you half of its attributes. Proceed._

As sudden as they came, the podiums sunk to the ground and Ryker sunk with them. A moment later, Ryker was standing on another platform, this time, pools of darkness surrounded him. His eyes widened is surprise as Shadows rose and started to walk towards him. _The darkness before you is the enemy. Fortunately, you have been given the power to fight it off. However, any other weapon will not work against them._ the voice stated. Ryker looked at his left hand and realized the sword from the podium was in his possession. He gripped it and got into a stance that was created by himself. The stance was meant for quick, powerful, and accurate strikes (similar to Kirirto's stance in SAO but not exactly).

 _Too light and almost too short of a reach. But it'll do for now._ he thought.

The first Shadow lunged towards him and Ryker reacted by parrying the claw and pivoted on his foot perform a backwards slash. The next Shadow jumped towards him with a flying kick of which was too slow. Ryker rolled out of the way and thrust his blade into the Shadow's back. It disappeared like the first and before the rest of his enemies got the chance to attack, he leaped into the air and drove his sword into the ground which sent out a Shockwave that killed of the rest of the Shadows.

Ryker stood back up and a path started to materialize in front of him. He followed it until he reached a large platform that was the size of two large airplanes. There was a spot of light in front of him so he stepped into it.

 _Everyone, no matter who they are, have Darkness within them. You are a living example. Sometimes, darkness can manifest itself to form a physical version of yourself._ Ryker stepped back as he saw his shadow rise and grow larger until it took a humanoid shape with claws. It had yellow eyes and a gaping hole in its chest with the shape of a heart. The giant was the size of a mansion. _Conquer it! If you succeed, we'll move on to the rest of the trial._

The giant swung its fist towards Ryker who flipped backwards. The fist connected with the floor and formed a spawning point for Shadows. Ryker quickly dispatched them and jumped into the giant's arm. He then proceeded to climb up to the giant's face while dodging the tendrils of darkness shot from the giant's chest. When Ryker finally reached its face, he mercilessly attacked its eyes and delivered a few blows to the face. The giant shook Ryker off and sank into the floor.

Ryker looked around, searching for his enemy but stopped when he decided to rely on his other senses. He closed his eyes and waited. A few moments later, he jumped into the air as the giant's fist erected from the floor. A few more rounds of this lasted until the giant finally revealed itself. Without letting the giant to attack, Ryker ran to its legs and unleashed a barrage of attacks. The giant grunted and fell and Ryker grinned with a wolfish smile. He raised his blade and brought it down unto the head of the giant. "Not that bad." Ryker stated. "What's next?"

 **Aurora's POV**

Aurora shook Ryker again but his still didn't move. His body was giving off a strange aura and he seems to be having a hectic dream. She stopped herself when she remembered Arceus's words the day before. Aurora settled down and looked at the room they were in. It room was all white and pods lined the walls of the room.

 _I hope you're doing well Ryker._ She thought worryingly. Ryker's body then shook violently and Aurora had to hold him down. When it calmed down, Aurora looked at his face. _He frowns even in his sleep._ She studied his face a bit more then subconsciously leaned in closer. Finally, her muzzle connected with his lips. A jolt of happiness and pleasure went across her body and Aurora's mind went foggy for a while. Aurora then thought that it was her first kiss, wondering if it was the same for Ryker. Then, it finally clicked. Realizing what she did, she pulled back (with much relunctance) and blushed madly.

 _I can't believe I just did that... it wasn't bad though._ she dreamily thought. She looked at Ryker lovingly and rested her head on his chest. Unlike normal Suicune, she didn't have a chin spike and was comfortable when she laid her head down. _I wonder if he will give me a chance? Can he feel the same love for me?_ she grimly thought. She shifted her position so that her head was facing his. _Hmm._ She sent a small jet of purifying water at his hair and to her surprise, they stayed dark silver. _So it is natural._

Aurora then directed her attention to his lips again. After losing a debate in her mind, she went in for another kiss. This time, the kiss lasted longer and when she pulled back, Ryker parted his lips unconsciously. Aurora blushed but a glint caught her eyes. She looked closer at Ryker's teeth and gasped. In the place of what should be the four corner teeth which was naturally sharp, were four canine - like fangs that looked like they can chew through steel. Now she was very curious. His fangs were about an inch long as well as sharper and deadlier than her own! Aurora looked at Ryker with a questioning look. _Who or what are you Ryker?_

 **Ryker's POV**

Ryker dodged tendrils of white and black as the giant he was fighting smashed it's limbs into the ground. It was white with skin like a jacket and had a mask with a sigil. The enemy rose and shot an orb at Ryker which bound him and left him suspended in the air. Ryker struggled to get free but stopped when the giant flew to right up to him. Ryker thought to himself as he landed a sloppy but strong blow to the thing's head.

 _He is a lot tougher than the last guy, the same can be said for his lackeys._ The said Dusks were flailing around on the platform below him and let out the occasional hiss. The giant recovered from Ryker's last attack and punched Ryker into the air.

At the apex, Ryker broke free of the orb and with his sword, sent it flying towards the giant. The attack was successful and the giant was temporarily stunned. Ryker took his chance and released a finishing move to the giant's chest and dragged his blade down the zipper until he reached the floor. Ryker took a step back and the giant was devoured by a light and rose into the air. Next thing he knew, it imploded and it's remains disappeared. Ryker then let out a sigh of relief and sat down to catch his breath.

 _Well done, you have passed the trial and you have proven yourself to be one of three chosen ones._ A pink door suddenly appeared in front of Ryker and he walked towards it. As he opened the door, a blinding light surrounded him. _Good luck,_ _The Alpha of Darkness and Flames and I hope you will be able to bring back your species._

 **Back At the Mansion**

Aurora jumped as Ryker bolted upwards. His brow was covered in sweat and his skin had paled to a sickly white. _Is it possible he knows what I really am?_ he thought to himself. He looked to his right and relaxed when he saw Aurora. "I got through the trial." he told her.

 _That doesn't matter I'm just glad to see you made it out OK._ Aurora replied turning her head as she blushed. "Thanks for watching me by the way." said Ryker. Aurora, still blushing, simply nodded.

For a while, he filled her in on what happened in his trial and what he went up against including the voice and the weapon he used. Aurora had some questions of her own but kept quiet after deciding to talk to him about it later. The house was a maze and they had a feeling that they were going to be there for a while. When it got too silent, Aurora broke the ice by asking a question. _Not to be rude but aren't you a bit curious about my coloration?_

Ryker shook his head. "I know what you are. You are an Islingr Suicune, Islingr meaning 'light'. You are a Suicune with an extra type which is Light **AN** : (I hate fairy type and I refuse to use it here.) and your attacks are very effective against Dark and Ghost types. As for your coloration, it is to represent what you are. If I remember correctly, you are a separate species from Suicunes and you can evolve a few times correct? " Aurora was very surprised and nodded her head in confirmation.

 _How do you know that?_ she asked.

" I read up on your species in a book. Apparently, your kind is supposed to be extinct, but, guess not. Not many people know about you anymore since you are very few in number. I believe that last to be seen was thirty or so years ago." he replied. Aurora looked down. _Yeah, we are pretty rare. In fact, I am the last of us._ she said sadly. Ryker flinched. "I'm sorry for bringing it up, I hope you can forgive me Aurora." Aurora simply looked at him and gave him a sad smile.

After a few more moments of silence, Aurora piped up. _So you have fangs?_

Ryker flinched again but replied to her question. "Yeah, had them since birth. That and my hair color as well as my eyes." At the mention of his eyes, she looked closer at them.

Her own eyes widened. _They're white?!_ she exclaimed.

Ryker nodded. "Yep, I'm the first in the world to have white eyes at birth. The closest anyone got was grey."

 _What about your parents?_ she asked.

Ryker replied calmly. "Nope, different colored eyes."

After he said that, he was quiet. They walked further along the hallway until they came upon a set of huge double doors.

"Prepare yourself just in case." Ryker warned.

They walked inside quietly and found three pods in the center of the room. Ryker inspected one of them then suddenly took a step back. "There's a boy in there!" he exclaimed.

 _There is a dog thing and a duck in the other two as well!_ Added Aurora.

As soon as she said that, the pods opened and their occupants opened their eyes. The boy in the middle yawned and the other two fell on their faces.

"Where am I? Donald, Goofy, do the either of you know?" asked the boy. "Nooope, hyuk." replied the dog thing. Ryker and Aurora just stared, trying to comprehend the situation.

The duck added, "Wewewenk! Five more minutes... zzz." Ryker sweat dropped while Aurora cracked a smile. Then, the three noticed they're being watched and looked at their audience.

"Hello, the name's Sora and do you know where we are?" said the boy.

Ryker quickly recognized Sora as the one in the floor in the trial. But, he answered his question without bringing it up. "No idea, what were you three doing in those pods?"

Sora grinned. "Sleeping!" he answered and Ryker face-palmed. A few more introductions went underway and the group were in the living room of the mansion by sunset.

"So you, Riku, and uh, Mickey closed the door?" asked Ryker.

Sora replied, "Yep! That's why I'm planning to look for him and Kairi once we get to Disney Castle. Oh, The King too." For the past hour, Sora explained who he was and the journey he took as well as the enemies he faced known as Heartless. Ryker explained what happened to him in the trial as well including the fact he used a strange weapon which Sora called a Keyblade. Suddenly, Dusks appeared but this time, there were Lancers as well. Donald and Goofy summoned their weapons as Sora summoned his Kingdom Key.

"What are these guys. Ahh, nevermind, just fight them off!" yelled Sora. As they fought, Ryker thought of the weapon he used to fight in the trial and sure enough, it appeared in his hand. Soon, both Ryker and Aurora fought off the enemies with the other three and Aurora told the others that her claws glow with a holy power before they make contact with the enemies which meant she can fight them too. After the battle, Sora found the exit and together, they charged through the forest and came across Twilight Town.

 _That was a close one._ Aurora said to the others. They didn't reply because they were all breathing heavily like she was.

"This must be Twilight Town, pretty nice." Ryker said finally.

"This place looks familiar..hm.." said Sora but he quickly shook it off. A tram whistled nearby and sounds of loud shop owners could be heard. Sora ran over to a Moogle Shop while explaining the types of items there are to Ryker and Aurora. After stocking up on potions and the like, the gang started investigating the town.

"What's going hyuk on over there?" asked Goofy.

Donald looked at the banner and read out loud, "The Struggle Tournament wewewenk. The duelists wear orbs and the one who knocks off the most orbs off the other wins! What kind of pffftt game is this?"

"Sounds like fun." said Sora. "You should join with me Alpha." Ryker shrugged and went over to the board to register himself with Sora. The other three went to the bleachers.

 _Good luck you two! We'll be watching you go at it!_ cheered Aurora who was leaping in the air to find a building to sit on and to avoid startling the public.

An announcer can be seen on the field. "Hello folks to our annual Struggle Tournament! Our champion will be participating and he has remained undefeated for three years!" The crowd cheered and a man with long hair in a purple cloak waved. The announcer continued. "Up first, Seifer vs. Sora!" The crowd cheered again. "I want a fair game you too and try to have fun." explained the announcer. Sora looked at the others and gave a thumbs up then turned to face Seifer, a teen who was dressed in a white cloak and a beanie.

"Beat it loser!" he shouted.

Sora gritted his teeth until he heard Ryker's voice in his head.

 _Calm down Sora. You must focus on the way he fights. For example, he's right handed and he is leaving his chest and his left side wide open and his footing isn't stable. Knowing that, use it to your advantage._

Sora calmed down and thanked Ryker and waited for Seifer to make the first move. Growing impatient, Seifer charged towards Sora who sidestepped at the last moment. Sora stuck out his foot and down Seifer went, face first. Sora grinned as Seifer got up who was glaring at him. This time, Sora rushed over to Seifer and struck him on the side then knocked him onto his back. A LOT of orbs fell and Sora quickly grabbed them all. The matched was pretty one-sided and Seifer ended up having no orbs by the end of the match making Sora the winner. The crowd cheered as Sora went to the bleachers.

"Thanks for the advice Alpha." Sora said over the din.

 _No problem._ Ryker replied, not bothering to talk over the crowd.

"Up next we have Alpha vs. Vivi! Same rules you two!" announced the announcer. The crowd roared (especially Aurora though Ryker thought nothing of it) as Ryker got to the field. Vivi, his opponent, was already there. The bell went off and Vivi flew over to Ryker and swung with the foam bat. Ryker, who sensed it coming, blocked it and surprised everyone by disarming Vivi. The crowd gasped as Vivi picked up the bat and growled at Ryker. He then unleashed a barrage of quick attacks at Ryker who dodged or blocked them all. Vivi, who was very frustrated, leaped into the air and used a finishing blow to which Ryker actually caught!

Again, the crowd went silent and Ryker gave a sinister smile as he struck Vivi on his side then once again on his back. He picked up the orbs and waited for Vivi to get back up. Suddenly, the world around them, except for Aurora and the trio, froze. Confused, Ryker looked around for an enemy that may be the source of the problem but was surprised to see Vivi moving... or Vivies. There were four Vivies moving in sync and they all attacked Ryker at once. In a flash, they disappeared and Ryker was on the opposite side of the field, his struggle bat worn from the last attack.

 _You guys saw that?_ He asked.

 _We did, look, time is beginning to flow again._ Aurora replied. On cue, time flowed normally again and Vivi, the original one, fell unconscious on the field.

"Amazing! The match was finished not even a minute after it started! Give it up for Alpha everyone!" the announcer exclaimed. A split second later, the crowd broke into a large and loud cheer so Ryker moved back to the stand.

"What was that?" he asked. "I don't know but I feel like it may have been a test. I don't know how I know I just do." replied Sora. The group agreed and waited for the next round.

"Alright everyone! We are at the semi-finals and it's Alpha and Sora at the field, yeah!" the announcer screamed. The said competitors looked at each other, nodded, and walked to the field.

Ryker waited for Sora to make a move as he circled the field. Sora tensed up, knowing full well how Ryker is a master of fighting hand to hand and with swords. When Sora got closer, Ryker twitched his bat which caused Sora to jump and flinch. A look of amusement appeared on Ryker's face. Suddenly, the bell on the train station rang and the two charged towards each other exchanging blows. The crowd was silent with anticipation and the only ones who were cheering were Donald and Goofy for Sora and Aurora for Ryker. Orbs fell to the floor as the struggle went on but to the crowd's amazement, they belonged to Sora who was losing badly.

Sora's face was contorted with frustration and Ryker was so deadly calm it was almost scary to look at him. Right before Sora charged again, Ryker sensed something was off did something that surprised everyone.

"I forfeit!" he yelled to the referee. The crowd, especially Sora and the others, were shocked. Ryker dropped his struggle bat and suddenly ran off towards the train station.

 _Sora, you can stay and face off with the champion and don't worry about me. I just want to check something out. Good luck._ And with that, Ryker was gone. Aurora leaped from her perch atop a building and went after him with worry etched into her face.

 **Author's Note**

 **Charachters:**

 **Ryker Fang, (m), human?**

 **Aurora North, (f), Islingr Suicune**

 **Sora, (m), keyblade wielder**

 **Donald, (m), duck, magician**

 **Goofy, (m), dog?, knight**

 **Seifer, (m), human**

 **Vivi, (?),?**

 **Announcer, (m), human**

 **Voice of the Trial, (m),?**

 **How's chapter 2? I hope I did well. Like I said before, the chapters will gradually become much longer and with more content. Anyways, what about that cliffhanger huh? What do you think is going to happen and what is up with Ryker? You'll find out in the next chapter: Master Yen Sid**

 **Please review!**

 **See Ya!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Here's the new update and I'm happy to say that I have wifi again! It sucks to be moving from one place to another on short notice. Shout outs to MrNightmare 1337, Kimgofthespirit, and Burn Shadow! Another thing, please be patient with the format of my story, it'll get better.**

 **Disclaimer : I do not own pokemon or any of KH2.**

 **Chapter 3 : A Destiny Revealed**

 **Twilight Town: Train Station**

Ryker ran up the pathway dispatching a few Heartless on the way. Above him, Aurora was leaping from rooftop to rooftop firing an **Ice Beam** and a couple of **Gusts** every now and then.

Where are you going? she inquired. She leaped in front of a Possessor and performed a **Slash** which proved too much for the Heartless. Ryker looked over at her as he continued to run past a wagon.

 _I saw a hooded figure watching the struggle tournament and when he noticed that I sensed him, he ran off towards this direction._ he replied while performing a backwards slash and finished the maneuver with a fireball which went straight at the flower-like Heartless. It didn't have enough time to recover from Ryker's last attacked and shrieked in pain as the fireball connected which eventually consumed the Heartless. The duo continued to run until they reached the train station.

 _More of those gray things._ mentioned Aurora as she bared her fangs at the Lancers and Dusks. Ryker nodded in confirmation and got into stance as a barrier cut off all exits possible in their area. Ryker looked at Aurora who in turn, looked at him.

"Looks like we have to fight them off until that barrier goes away. " As soon as he said that, the Nobodies attacked from different directions. Ryker rolled to the side, dodging a jab from the Lancer and countered with a slash to its back. The Lancer staggered and tried to get up. When it did, the Lancer prepared to throw his lance at Ryker. However, it didn't get to throw its weapon since a dusk was thrown into it, disappearing when they landed.

 _Sorry for taking your kill._ Aurora announced with a giggle. Ryker rolled his eyes and thrusted his Keyblade into an unsuspecting Dusk which was busy watching Aurora who was taking out another one of the Dusk's brethren. The battle went on for about another ten minutes and the duo were back to back, killing any Nobody that ventured too close.

"How much more are there? " Ryker said as he killed his 30th or so Dusk. As soon as he said that, a cloaked figure leaped from the roof of a building behind them and landed in front of them brandishing his golden Keyblade. He rushed forward and dispatched some Nobodies, swinging around on his Keyblade which, by the way, reminded Ryker of a time when he decided to go to the movie theater for the first time to watch Star Wars. At the time, people thought it was really good so Ryker was curious on what was so good about it. He went in and watched the movie, coming right back out about 30 minutes in vowing never to watch Star Wars again.

 _Kind of like that short green thing when it fought that old guy with the lightning powers._ Ryker then noticed the cloaked figures ears which were round like a mouse. _Almost._ He thought. Eventually, the figure tossed a brown pouch to Ryker, who caught it with a questioning look. At the same time, Sora and Co. arrived just in time to see the short figure.

"Hey it's the King! " Sora exclaimed. Donald and Goofy ran him over and tried to reach The King but were quickly halted by the Nobodies.

"There's no time! Get on the purple train and get out of here! " yelled The King. Ryker looked at the pouch in his hands suddenly realizing that it contained mon- uh, munny.

"Come on guys, if he's Mickey then we should do as he says." Ryker said calmly despite the situation. The group eyed Mickey who was still fighting then quickly ran to the train station. As soon as Ryker stepped inside, he felt a wave of energy coming off of one of the purple train at the far end of the station. He looked at the booth which was surprisingly empty.

 _Looks like we don't have to pay for this train._ Aurora said as she shrunk back into her Altered Form to avoid attracting attention. The group quickly walked into one of the carts which was small and only had a few seats. Sora and his two companions sat down and unfortunately, there was only one space left. The cart was VERY small. _Umm.. I can rest on the flo-?_ She was suddenly picked up by Ryker who went to the remaining seat and sat down.

"There, you don't have to be on the floor now." he said with same monotonous voice he used the other day in his cave on Mnt. Moon. Aurora was surprised at first but shifted a bit to get comfortable on Ryker's lap.

 _Thanks._ she said with a smile though he didn't see it. He simply nodded and looked out of the window to see that they were already moving. The train zoomed into the tunnel and when it reached the other end, you could see the ocean as well as some birds flying towards the sun. The whole trip took about an hour and by then, everyone but Ryker was asleep. Instead, Ryker was going over his thoughts of the trial.

"How does he know about me and what I used to be called back then?" he silently asked himself. His thoughts were interrupted however, when the train traveled through another tunnel which was glowing an eerie purple color. When the train reached the other side, the scenery instantly changed from a relaxing sunset to a dark and mysterious atmosphere. Ryker looked out the window and took in the sight. There was a tower which was easily over 15 stories tall with only a few windows. He then decided to wake everyone else up so he used his mind and gently nudged each of his companion's mental dream states.

"We're here." was all he said. Aurora yawned and looked at him while slightly frowning.

 _He's so blunt sometimes and really anti-social. But why?_

Sora yawned and stretched his arm which knocked Goofy off his seat which caused his hat to fly off and land in Donald's throat.

After saving Donald from choking and an apology from Sora, the group stepped out onto their destination. Sora looked at the entrance to the tower and spotted a rather obese figure.

"Pete," Sora yelled, "what are you doing here?!" Said figure turned around to reveal a bull dog - like appearance complete with blue overalls and a shirt underneath.

"Whaa-? She never told me that you three would be here!" Pete stopped but noticed that there were two others besides his enemies. "More friends eh?" Pete asked. But before Sora got to reply, Pete ran into a bluish black portal that took him elsewhere.

"Coward!" Sora growled. He looked at the others. "If Pete was here, that means something must be going on inside. Let's go." he added. They entered and immediately, they were ambushed by Heartless. The group fought the Heartless off and ascended the stairs which led to a room with more Heartless. This went on for three more floors and finally, they came across the last door.

"I hope this is the end to them, hyuk." Goofy remarked. They went inside to find a room that was filled with books and scrolls as well as a mirror. In the center of the room was a desk which seated an aged man with robes and a blue pointed hat.

"I've been expecting you." he said looking specifically at Sora, Ryker, and Aurora.

"Master Yen-Sid!" Donald and Goofy exclaimed in unison. They quickly went to their knees and bowed.

"What's up gramps?" asked Sora who was immediately bashed on the head with a staff by Donald.

"Be respectful to him Sora!" chided Donald. They began to fight and bicker about respect and old men bit they didn't notice that Yen-Sid was still staring at Ryker, who gave him a challenging glare back, as if daring the wizard to reveal anything Ryker didn't want the others to know. Aurora felt the tension between the two, but she didn't know why that was the case since they had just met.

"Enough." the wizard croaked. The three stopped fighting and looked at Yen-Sid. "I foresaw this day so no introductions will be needed. As for you, Keyblade wielders, you two have a destiny that needs to be fulfilled.

Ryker stepped forward and immediately got to the point."What is it we need to do and what exactly are we facing?" The wizard smirked in amusement and opened a large book that suddenly appeared on the desk.

"Before you do anything, you must learn the history of the Keyblade." Yen-Sid replied.

 _No speeches thankfully._ Ryker thought. Over the next hour or so, Ryker and Aurora read the book which contained information about a war including something called the _x_ -blade and some background information on man who goes by the name of Xehanort. The book also mentions someone by the name of Ansem and gave details on his work. The book also gave information and history about the Heartless and their various forms and abilities. After reading the book, the wizard told them of the Nobodies and a group that went by The Organization. The Organization apparently, are distinguished by the fact that they have no hearts and that they all wear black hooded jackets.

"But what is their goal?" Sora asked. Yen-Sid looked at the sky through the window above him, but he didn't give an answer.

"You will have to travel to each world and free them of their troubles. Only then, your journey will end." the wizard said with a grim look.

"Then let's go!" Sora cheered and ran towards the door only to get grabbed by Ryker.

"How do we get to these worlds, Sora?" Ryker asked. He was immediately answered by Goofy who was jumping with excitement.

"We'll use the Gummi Ship, hyuk!" Ryker and Aurora were curious to what that was but decided to find out later.

They were about to leave but was stopped by a red fairy. "Before you go, let's freshen you up a bit!" it said. The fairy then proceeded to drag Sora to the next room. Ryker and the others simply followed them. Yen-Sid continued to meditate on his thoughts. In the next room, an argument between three different fairies can be heard and as Yen-Sid looked up, he saw that Sora was in a fresh and new attire that replaced his lod worn out clothes. He had black gloves with silver X's on them complete with a black jacket, red t-shirt, a crown necklace, and yellow shoes.

"Ready to go!" he announced. They started to walk to the door but Aurora noticed Ryker wasn't with them and turned around.

 _Aren't you coming?_ she asked. The group looked at Ryker who was focused on his Keyblade at the moment. Then, he did something to caused everyone in the room to gasp.

He focused his power and broke the Keyblade which shattered into shards.

"What do you think you a-?!" Yen-Sid began but stopped as he saw what Ryker was doing. In Ryker's hand, was the pure energy that the Keyblade stored. He then converted into his own energy and absorbed it.

"You do not have to worry, I will put that energy to good use." he said. And without another word, he left the room leaving everyone in the room shocked.

They left and soon found Ryker waiting for them outside. He stepped forward and began to explain.

"Before you ask any questions, I will only tell you that the Keyblade I had will not be sufficient for me in combat and I mean to make use of the energy I required." At the same time, he showed them the energy absorbed on his palm, however, it was converted to pure darkness. "Now, how do we leave?"

As soon as he said that, a bright light teleported them all into a ship that was made with blocks that ranged from orange to red.

"This is the Gummi Ship and this baby will be able to take us to different world's in no time." Donald explained. After getting in their seats, Aurora noticed that Ryker is looking out to the sky through the cockpit.

 _Ryker? Hello? Ryker!_ Ryker broke out of whatever deep thinking he was in and looked at Aurora.

"Yes?" he asked. "Do you need anything?"

 _What are you looking at? I don't see anything outside._ she replied.

"What are you talking about? I wasn't looking outside was I?" Ryker said.

 _Either he spaces out a lot or whatever he is thinking of, it must be really important for him to not notice me calling him._ she thought. She then looked at him. _Nevermind._ earning a quizzical look from Ryker.

"We're heading out now!" Sora announced.

The ship lurched and rocked for a couple minutes but it eventually blasted off into the void. They were flying through the void which had some sort of distorted areas within. The trip was rocky but it eventually became smooth when Donald told Sora to stop messing with the nobs. Eventually, about 15 minutes later, they reached a world that showed an image of a white castle with pointed blue caps.

"Disney Castle, still amazing as ever. " Sora said with a smile.

Sora explained the adventures he had when he went to different such as this one as the Gummi Ship flew to the landing Bay which took a while thanks to Goofy who was constantly pressing random buttons as he moved his head in his sleep. The group stepped out onto the platform that held the Gummi Ship and started to walk down the path towards the castle. Aurora swore that she saw two squirrels with blowtorches and wrenches. They walked through the castle gardens which composed of gigantic flowers and bushes that were shaped like mouse heads. They eventually reached a long hallway that had really big double doors that led to the throne room. However, they walked right past it and went through a small door at the end of the hall.

A mouse in a dress and a duck who was also in a dress stopped their conversation and turned towards the newcomers.

"Ah, you're here, thank goodness!" said the mouse.

 **So, that was chapter 3, not bad I hope. So our heroes meet Yen-Sid, Pete, etc. But, I bet you guys are wondering what Ryker did to that energy right? Well if you keep reading, you will find out so uh, hint hint. Anyways, tell me what you guys think of this chapter and remember, I'm open to suggestions and ideas you may or may not have. Remember to review!**

 **Characters:**

 **Ryker/Alpha Fang, (m), human?**

 **Aurora North, (f), Islingr Suicune**

 **Sora, (m), KB wielder**

 **Donald, (m), duck**

 **Goofy, (m), dog I think?**

 **Yen-Sid, (m), wizard**

 **Red, Green, and Blue fairies, (f)**

 **Pete, (m), bull dog?**

 **The King/Mickey, (m), KB wielding mouse**

 **Female Mouse**

 **Female Duck**


	5. Chapter 4

**Alright, so here is another chapter of Light In My Darkness chapter 4! This one won't have that much action but it will be enjoyable I hope. Remember to review and flames are allowed, I can take the heat. By the way, I am not, repeat, NOT, going to do all of the KH2 story line. Why? It'll make sense later on. On to the story.**

 **Chapter 4: Preparations at Disney Castle**

Ryker looked at the scene in front of him. Donald and Goofy were bowing to the mouse in the pink dress as Sora explained who they were to him as well as Aurora. When he finished his explanation, Ryker walked over to the mouse and bowed low due to her height.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Milady. I am Alpha, Sora's partner in this journey." Aurora walked over soon after and bowed as well.

 _And I am Aurora North. I come from the same place as Alpha does and I am also aiding Sora in his journey to vanquish the darkness._

Sora, Donald, and Goofy all had their jaws wide open, clearly shocked that the duo before them spoke with eloquence with impressive manners to boot. Queen Minnie was surprised as well but grinned widely.

"It is a pleasure to meet you both and I am very glad that you two decided to help Sora." Minnie said.

She then focused her look on Ryker, who got up from his previous position. Aurora got up as well but noticed that Minnie was shaking, not in excitement but of fear.

 _Is there something wrong my liege?_ she asked.

Minnie pointed her finger at Ryker who had an idea as to why she was acting this way. Sensing that he was making the Queen uncomfortable, he went outside and walked to to the garden where he can wait for them when they finished their business.

"Why did he just leave?" Sora asked.

"That one, Alpha, has a great darkness within him. One so great, it rivals any Heartless there is out there! You should not have trusted him... " Minnie trailed off, shivering when she saw Ryker's trail leading out of the room.

 _What are you talking about! Alpha is probably the nicest person here! He saved my life when he could have easily just left me to die, which by the way by saving me, risked his own life! Luckily, he managed to cheat death._ Aurora looked into Minnie's eyes. _I don't know of the darkness you babble of but don't you dare talk about Alpha that way!_ And with that, she left. The room was silent, everyone within was clearly surprised by Aurora's outburst.

Finally, Sora spoke up. "She's right you know. Alpha may be silent most of the time, but he's very helpful and even helped me win a fight not too long ago. Queen Minnie, I know in my heart we can trust him. I'm sure I speak for Donald and Goofy as well." Said companions nodded in agreement. Minnie looked at Daisy and sighed.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. It's just that the darkness he harbors was overwhelming and I wasn't prepared for it." She sat down on a nearby chair. "I hope I didn't lose him as an ally and even more hopefully, as a friend."

Outside Aurora searched the halls for Ryker. Her search went on for fifteen minutes before she gave up. _Where are you Ryker?_

Ryker was laying down on the roof of the Gummi Ship hanger thinking whether or not he should have accepted this quest. Why was he chosen? How come everywhere he went, there is always someone who is afraid of him? He sighed and looked at the clouds. There wasn't any wind so anything (or anyone) couldn't find him if they decided to find him by scent. Ryker got up and jumped back down to the grass. Behind him, he could hear the sounds of machinery and tools being used. Curious, he went inside.

Aurora went back to the room Minnie was in, fuming as she did. _He's gone, I can't catch his scent anywhere._

Sora looked at Minnie who hid her face as she silently admonished herself for her behavior towards Ryker.

"Well, he'll turn up soon enough. For now, let's go over our plans for the journey." announced Sora. For the next hour and a half, they went over the possibilities of how many worlds there were and what foes they may meet again.

"We defeated Ansem but who knows, he may show up again." said Sora. The group, except Aurora, nodded in agreement that last statement. Suddenly, the door opened and two squirrels scurried in. Behind them stood Ryker.

"Chip and Dale said that the Gummi Ship is ready." Everyone turned at his voice and immediately, Minnie ran over to him.

"I'm sorry for the way I treated you before. There's no excuse for how rude I was and I hope you can forgive me Alpha." she pleaded.

"It's fine, I understand." Ryker replied. Minnie looked up at him, not believing what she just heard. Just like that? He's not going to get angry? She wandered in her thoughts for a bit, failing to notice that Ryker was currently talking to the others.

 _Where were you? I couldn't find you anywhere!_ Aurora exclaimed.

"In the hanger in the gardens." he replied.

"So you said the ship was ready?" Sora questioned.

Chip and Dale chirped up in unison. "Y-y-yep, the ship should be better now and the engine I'd r-r-r-restored as well! ACORN!" Silence. "Nevermind!" they chirped. Sora sweat-dropped and looked at Ryker.

"Ready to go? " he asked. Ryker nodded and turned around to walk away only to get stopped by Minnie.

"Does this mean you forgive me?"

Ryker thought for a moment and shrugged. "I can't forgive you. Why would I when you're only telling the truth? There's no harm in that." He then walked out, leaving Minnie stunned.

The group reached the hanger and as they got inside the Gummi Ship, Aurora pulled Ryker to the side. Before she had a chance to talk, Chip and Dale started their countdown.

"Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven!" The ship descended deep within the world.

When it stopped, there was a runway waiting for it.

"Six! Five! Four!" The Gummi Ship powered up its engine roaring to life.

"Three! Two! One!' The runway lit up the iron doors opened.

"Blast off!" they finished. The Gummi Ship rocketed down the runway and in seconds, ejected into space.

After things calmed down, Aurora finally had a chance to talk to Ryker.

 _Ryker, do you mind telling me how you do the things to you do?_

He replied to her mentally to keep the conversation a secret.

 _Well, you already know my way of fighting was self-taught. If you wish to know everything, I'll tell you. First of all, I was raised with completely mastery of fire and darkness. They were like a second nature so I didn't need to get taught. However, even now I try not to use them when I don't need to. When I was 11, I decided that hand to hand combat may not be enough so I decided to practice sword fighting everyday along with every other skill I learned. I train everyday in the morning when dawn breaks. Hunting came naturally and it was mastered to the point where I don't need tracks or any other tell-tale signs to track my quarry. I rely mostly on instinct and the scent of their fear or adrenaline when they sense they are being hunted._

He sighed, as it was getting hard for him to reveal his qualities to her, or anyone for that matter. He was usually hiding as much things about him as possible to avoid catching one's eye. But alas, he promised her that he would tell her MOST of the facts about him. He couldn't back out now.

 _As for me knowing Arceus,_ he continued, _she came to me a while back after I turned 14 and told me that I had apparently caught her attention. She told me that she knows much about me and she knew about my combat ability. She offered me a rare opportunity: to travel around the region helping pokemon in need as well as doing quests such as this one. At first, I was going to refuse since I didn't want to get noticed by anyone who may know of my origin._ He gestured towards his hair, a tell-tale dark silver color that gave away his relations to his family. _I won't tell you of why I, or rather, the whole Fang family were known back then so I apologize if you're disappointed. Anyway, I thought it over and accepted Lady Arceus's offer. I figured that it has been 7 years since people have last heard of the Fang so I decided to accept her offer. It was actually a win-win since the quests and travels would give me extra practice fighting should there be anyone who had a bone to pick with me. Ever since, that was all I had done for 5 years. Other than that, I constantly turned down offers from Lady Arceus. I just don't know why she wants me to join all of you in your Legendary Council. Obviously, I'm no pokemon, let alone a legendary. Anyways, that is all about me you should know now and I don't have anything more to share._

He looked at Aurora who had her eyes widened in awe. She then shook violently and looked at him while flashing a warm smile.

 _You are full of surprises aren't you? Though it must have been hard for you when you were a kid._

At that statement, Ryker simply shrugged, turning his attention back to the vast expanse of space, going into deep thought again. This time however, Aurora didn't try to pry him from his thoughts. She sighed and reflected on what he had told her. Then, a thought came into existence in her mind.

 _Wait, he said he has been doing all that since he was 14 and it has been 5 years. Which means he is 19, about the same age as me. He is definitely older than me though, but not that much._

She looked at Ryker again who was oblivious to everything around him. Aurora suddenly frowned.

 _He has done so much despite his age and he talks with so much wisdom of which matches the mind of Celebi who is pretty old compared to humans. 137 years old if memory serves._

For a long while, the group flew through the void. It was so long in fact, the Donald decided to put the ship on auto-pilot. Sora pushed a button on the console and a few brightly colored cubes were dispensed onto a protruding tray next to Goofy's seat. Goofy put on some clean latex gloves and grabbed the cubes, handing one to each of the crew before taking off the gloves. Ryker cocked an eyebrow but Sora silently answered his unasked question by pressing another button which raised a table with utensils and few plates. He then motioned for each of the crew to place their cubes in a plate. Aurora had trouble with doing so (No hands so the cube was held by her lips since Goofy told her to not get it wet) which resulted in her using **Psychic** to place the cube on her plate.

"Watch this!" Sora said excitedly. He grabbed a water bottle from the cabinet and walked back to the table. He unscrewed the cap and took a spoon from his plate. Sora then poured a spoonful of water onto the rather large spoon and allowed a little drop of water to fall and land on the cube on his plate. He proceeded to do the same with the other cubes and sat back down at his seat, motioning everyone else to do the same. As soon as they were all seated, each cube expanded and popped. When the steam cleared, on each of their plates was a meal considered to be for a king. Each plate had steak (cooked much to Ryker's displeasure), slices of salmon (again: cooked), mashed potatoes with gravy, and finally, scrambled eggs under a layer of melted cheese.

"Hmm, magic of the Gummi Ship I'm guessing?" Ryker announced. Sora, Donald, and Goofy all nodded in unison with smiles plastered on their faces. Ryker and Aurora returned their attentions to their plates, then, the two politely took a bite. Amazingly, the food tasted as if it was freshly made! Aurora enjoyed the potatoes, creamy with a hint of butter. Oh, the gravy tasted divine! She savored each bite of her meal. However, the same could not be said for the trio in front of her, each devouring their food with great speed to the point they were practically inhaling it. Sora then stopped his conquest to murder his food when he noticed that Ryker was eating, but he seemed really distanced from the group.

"Hey Alpha, you ok?" worried Sora. Said person looked at Sora and nodded, forcing the very smallest of smiles.

"Delicious," Ryker replied. Sora smiled and returned to his meal, burying his face in the scrambled eggs as he did so. As soon as Sora did that, Ryker's face returned to being emotionless. It's not like he disliked the food, but instead he is very focused with his invading thoughts. Aurora saw the whole thing and even when Ryker said, "delicious," she knew he had a fake smile. Somehow, it pained her that he hid his actual feelings from others. He never opens up and never gave her the chance to get closer. At that thought, Aurora paused eating for a bit and started to ponder about him.

 _I love him, but, what will his reaction be? Will he return the same feelings for me? Wait, it'll never work. He'll probably be disgusted at me for even considering that. A human and a pokemon? It'll never work out. *sigh* Besides, he's not even showing any emotion like that towards me. He probably just wants to get this mission done and over with._

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, when suddenly, three loud and hearty burps sounded in the Gummi Ship. She looked over at Sora and his two friends. They were each holding their bellies which were quite swollen and had a look of content on their faces. Next thing they knew, the trio fell asleep in their seats, Sora muttering something about toothpaste as he nodded off to sleep. The scene made Aurora chuckle a bit and eventually, after regaining her mirth, finished the contents of her plate. Aurora's ears (hidden by her ever flowing mane), twitched as she heard the sound of a chair scraping against the floor. She turned at the sound and watched Ryker as he walked over to the console. He halted to read the buttons and immediately, he pressed a glowing purple button.

The lights of the ship dimmed considerably and the chairs that seated the sleeping trio shifted and turned into mini beds that were the perfect size for them to sleep in. Ryker pressed another button, this one lowered the table raised the mini beds to different levels of height. Sora in the middle, Donald at the bottom, and Goofy at the top. They took up a third of the ship so the whole group maintained their personal space.

"You should get some rest as well, Aurora. I'll stay up and watch if anything comes up," Ryker said in a low voice. Aurora looked at him, disagreement clear on her face. However, she noticed that his white eyes seem to glow in the dark, piercing through the darkness. There was only two points of darkness in his eyes and they were his pitch black pupils. She shuddered, though not completely in fear. She then stayed silent and walked over to an empty raised bed. She got into the bed and made herself comfortable in it. She looked over at Ryker for the final time and saw that his back was turned from her, his jacket swaying with the movement of the ship. She stared at him long and hard, eventually falling asleep like the three goofballs on the other side of the ship.

Ryker stared at seemingly nothing in the void. His mind processing thoughts that has been ailing him since their departure.

 _I've decided... once Sora and the others are well prepared to go out and finish on their own, I'll leave without a word._ He looked at to the sleeping form of Aurora, an apologetic look surfaced on his face. He turned away, looking at the endless void before him again. _I'm sorry, all of you, but too many people know that I harbor a powerful darkness and that darkness will no doubt attract our enemies and ultimately bring forth more danger than necessary. I'm so very sorry..._

The next morning, the group woke up to the beeping of the Gummi Ship. Ryker can be seen sitting in a chair, emotionless as ever.

A feminine yet automated voice sounded from the console. "Coordinates reached. Destination: Hallow Bastion."

The group stretched and yawned as a image of Hollow Bastion appeared. Sora walked up to the console and started to prepare breakfast.

"Thanks for tucking us in bed by the way. " he said with gratitude. Ryker simply nodded in acknowledgment and got up, stretching his neck as he did so. The group ate breakfast which was Italian themed at the time. Spaghetti with meatballs with garlic bread and a salad with berries on the side. Everyone ate in silence, clearly still tired from the previous day's activities. Even the rowdy trio were silent and ate at a natural pace. Aurora was the first to finish and yawned once more, revealing Mariana Sauce on her canines. She proceeded to polish her teeth with her tongue, using **Bubble Beam** within her mouth to rinse. Once she was satisfied, she swallowed and looked at the others.

Sora was about to be finished with his plate but seemed like he couldn't take another bite. Donald was chewing on a piece of garlic bread, taking longer than usual since ducks like him had molars to crush and grind food. Goofy was finished but had a string of spaghetti hanging from his jowls. Ryker seem to be finishing up as well. He was finishing up the salad, chewing on a blueberry and a half of a strawberry. He noticed her staring and gave her a questioning look to which she responded with a smile, turning slightly red in embarrassment at the same time. He gave her a warm smile, a genuine one at that, of which made her feel like a warm puddle of happiness, like the one forming on the table as Donald accidently spilled his water. He quickly apologized and slipped on the tablecloth which was responded with laughter from the group and earning a small chuckle from Ryker. Donald himself started laughing and eventually proceeded to dry the table.

After cleaning up, Goofy walked up to the monitor, squinting at the information being displayed.

"Gwarsh, I remember being here on our first journey. Good times, except for Maleficent of course. Pretty scary when Sora turned into a Heartless too, hyuk."

Said hero shivered at the memory and looked at the two individuals at the back of the ship, promising to tell them on the story later. Sora then walked over to Goofy's side and prepared to teleport the lot to the world before them

"Ready? " he asked which was responded by a series of simultaneous nods from the rest of the group. Sora nodded in confirmation and teleported them to Hollow Bastion.

 **Strange House**

An aged man in baby blue robes with a pointed hat put his book down and smiled.

"Ah, so the hero returns, hee hee. Awoo-hoo! Hehe. "

The wizard continued to prance around his books whooping about. He hopped on a foot and reached a large computer monitor. At the seat, typing away with amazing speed, was a middle aged man with blond hair and Google. He had a white t-shirt with a belt which holstered a medium sized hammer. The man noticed the wizard a took a long drag from his cigarette.

"What now, you old coot? " he asked clearly irritated. He took another long drag then extinguished his cigarette. He placed it in an ash tray and turned in his rolling chair to face the wizard.

The wizard beamed, barely containing his excitement. He pointed a finger outside and a young girl with a huge shuriken appeared.

"Yeah gramps, what's up? " she asked, putting away the shuriken and taking a seat on top of a stack of dusty books.

The wizard cleared his throat and did a dramatic drumroll with his fingers.

" It seems like our friends have came to us. And it seems they have brought two more with them. Both powerful but one immensely so."

The girl gasped and ran up to the wizard knocking over the books while she did so.

"You mean Sora's here?! Where is that guy, I miss him! "

The wizard chuckled and walked over to a nearby window, adjusting his glasses whenever one side starts to tilt.

" Yes, it won't be long now. Just give him and his friends some time. Then, we can ask him questions about his adventures. "

The girl smiled and proceeded to pick up the books she had knocked over. The man by the computer chuckled and resumed typing, occasionally stopping to scratch his head.

 **Town Square**

The group mingled with the people, checking out shops and having negotiations with Moogles. Sora ended up buying a belt for himself and a few hi-potions. Goofy bought a new shield and was skipping around the market with glee. Donald synthesized a new staff which costed him about half of his materials. Ryker and Aurora didn't buy anything but still browsed through the shops. Aurora was walking along side Ryker, who was silent throughout the entire day. Finally, they sat on a bench the was big enough to seat the both of them. Not a word was exchanged between the two for a while.

"So, how long have you been in the Legendary Council? " Ryker asked out of the blue. The sudden question caught Aurora off guard, for two reasons actually. One: it was a random question, he could have pick any other conversation starters that were better. Two: he actually talked, without being spoken to when usually it was the opposite.

Aurora recovered from her shock and quickly recomposed herself. She had to think about her answer before saying anything. Once she was ready, she answered his question.

 _Well, I have been in the Council since I was 15, so four years and running going on five._

She looked back at Ryker who was nodding, taking in the information that was given. Suddenly, a question popped up in her head as she thought about her own age.

 _Ryker, when were you born? You seem to be in your teens but I'm a bit curious._

Ryker raised an eyebrow but answered her question anyway.

"The ninth of December, 1998." he replied. "But since you know my birthday now, when was yours?"

Aurora had her jaw open in amazement, then swallowed the like in her throat.

 _The twelfth of December of 1998. You're only three days older than me. Wow._

The two looked at each other, genuinely surprised. Suddenly, Sora and the other two appeared before them.

"We got the supplies! Oh, and Donald and Goofy each got new weapons. Let's go head on over to the neighborhood guys. " Sora announced.

Ryker and Aurora immediately got up and followed the others down a path behind the market. The path winded and had some walkways that led to dead ends but eventually, they reached a clearing surrounded by houses. One, of which, was significantly larger than the others. Sora walked towards the center of the clearing and was suddenly ambushed by Heartless. A barrier surrounded the whole area so they had no other thing to do but fight.

There were Book Masters and four Morningstars surrounding them. Sora was about to swing his Keyblade at one but was interrupted by a ball that appeared out of nowhere then rolled to the one of the Heartless. It got under the Morningstar closest to Sora and exploded, sending the Heartless sky-high.

"What the-" Sora began. Then, a shruiken came from the house in front of him and impaled the Heartless, dispatching it immediately. The group looked up and saw a young girl dressed in a ninja's outfit. She jumped off the house and landed next to Sora, who was beaming like the sun.

"Yuffie! Thanks for the help! " Sora screamed as he hugged her. Yuffie giggled and hugged him back. An explosion sounded from behind them and they turned around to see what it was. Ryker was standing in the middle of all the remaining Heartless, a white flame with a dark hue was in his hand. The Heartless around him were screaming in pain, the flames eating away at their shadowy flesh mercilessly. Yuffie's jaw was in unhinged in awe and Sora sweat-dropped nervously.

"Did you do that sir? " Yuffie asked. She secretly hoped he did, taking in his appearance.

 _Tall, REALLY handsome, muscular, AND magic-wielding? I think I'm in looooooove.._

Ryker raised an eyebrow and looked at the teen girl in front of him.

 _Sir? I'm only-_ His thoughts were suddenly interrupted, he looked at Yuffie and gave a look of surprise as he heard her thoughts.

 _People really need to learn how to shield their thoughts and the sooner the better._ he thought.

A bulging vein could be seen on the side of Aurora's head. Luckily for her, no one thought anything of it.

 _Great, she's into him, not only that, but no doubt Ryker heard her thoughts as well._

Donald looked at Aurora who was fuming and backed away from her slowly. Goofy saw this as well but stood completely still, as if to avoid catching the attention of a predator.

"Sora, " Yuffie suddenly said." why don't you introduce me to your friends? " A dreamy look was set on her face as she asked him the question.

"Just wait until we meet up with the others." was Sora's reply. They walked into the house, Aurora stomping her paws on the way. Noticing this, Donald asked what was wrong.

 _Nothing Donald, I'm just fine thank you. So can you please leave me alone before I make " neopolitan duck " a known frozen treat._ And with that, she walked off into the living room of the house. Donald paled and hid behind Goofy in fear.

The house was nice on the inside. There were comfortable sofas, a fireplace, nice carpeting, and many interesting books that had yellow pages, aged with time. As soon as Sora stepped in, a wizard ran over and shook his hand. A man with blond hair also walked over and patted Sora's back

"Sora! It is so very nice to see you again! How have you been doing my lad? " he asked.

" Merlin! Cid! It's nice too see you two too! I can't wait to tell you all of our adventures since we left Traverse Town! But first, let me introduce you to two new members to the team. " Sora finished.

" Yes, introduce them Sora. " Yuffie added with a wink directed to Ryker who was paying attention to all the books around him, mostly about history and arcane arts. Aurora's anger flared again but she held her tongue.

" Right, he is Alpha, another Keyblade wielder, I think, " Sora said, remembering what Ryker did to his Keyblade. "and she's Aurora, Alpha's partner." he finished.

Ryker finally noticed what was going on and looked at the three individuals who were apparently Sora's colleagues.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope we will become good acquaintances and get along in the future. " he said with a little bow of his head. Yuffie nearly fainted when he said that and a" Oh, my " can be heard from Merlin who was obviously impressed with Ryker's eloquence and manners. Cid merely nodded his head in approval, already liking the silver haired boy in front of him.

 _Like Alpha mentioned, it's nice to meet you and I also hope we will become good friends in the near future._ Aurora added, ticked when she noticed Yuffie's reaction to Ryker.

Merlin suddenly become highly interested in Aurora, taking in her appearance with his curiosity piqued.

"My my, what sort of creature are you? And a telepathic are you? " Merlin walked over to her, reaching towards her mane.

Aurora immediately snapped at his fingers, barely missing her mark. She bared her teeth to him and the other two.

 _No one touches me! NO ONE understand?!_ she added. Cid and Merlin immediately nodded, extremely nervous all of the sudden.

"But I saw Alpha scratching your back this morning on the way here. Your back was itching and you asked him to get it for you since you couldn't reach it yourself, remember? " Donald remarked.

Aurora looked at him with a glare that looked like it could cut through the armor of the Gummi Ship with ease. Donald nervously gulped and backed away.

He squawked and dropped an egg as he did so.

Aurora redirected her attention to the three in front of her who were busy focusing on how Donald, a male duck, had laid an egg. She then thought to herself.

 _Well, I did ask Ryker to scratch my back but it wasn't exactly itchy..._

After explaining who the three new arrivals were to Ryker and Aurora, Sora walked over to the egg that Donald had dropped, wrapped it in bubble wrap, and placed it in his bag.

"This huge egg will make a good breakfast. " he mumbled. Fortunately, all except Ryker (of whom ears had twitched at that moment) did not hear him. Aurora almost swore that she had heard him but thought that he would never do that to them. Sora and the group had explained why they were there to the house occupants and asked questions of the town.

"The rolling exploding balls are part of a defense system for the town. The Heartless have been here for a while now but we don't know why. " Cid informed.

Sora leaned back against the wall, gathering his thoughts and reflected on the information.

"Has anyone seen any hooded figure who goes by the name, "The Organization" around here? Or anyone by the name of Riku or Kairi? " Sora asked.

Merlin and the others shook their heads and Sora's head hung in disappointment. Cid's head then shot up.

"Hold on, come with me. " The group followed him to the large computer. Cid took the mouse and clicked on a file labeled, "Cameras" and scrolled to he found a clip that had some sort of distorted background.

"This one is really blurry so I thought this was suspicious. But I didn't see anything worth mentioning. " Cid said with a frown. The group looked at the video as it played. It was really blurry and you couldn't see anything at all save for the cement. Suddenly, a small black distortion appeared far in the background. No one but Ryker seem to noticed it.

" Wait, pause it for a moment. " Ryker announced. Cid immediately obliged and everyone looked at Ryker in curiosity.

" What did you see, Alpha? " asked Yuffie. Ryker pointed at the screen.

" Zoom in here by, let's say, 125%. " Cid did so and zoomed in at the area Ryker pointed at.

" Now enhance image to 1860p. " Cid did so and suddenly, the distortion formed an image of a hooded figure dressed in all black. Then, the figure suddenly vanished as if it knew they were watching him.

" There! One of The Organization! " Sora exclaimed." Wait, how did you see that Alpha? That was the size of a fruit-fly's wing WITHOUT the zoom."

Again, all eyes turned to Ryker who simply shrugged.

"20/20 vision? " he replied. They seemed to accept that answer and turned back to the computer screen. Ryker silently sighed in relief, thanking his quick thinking.

" Well, that video was from a week ago so I doubt anyone is still there. Why don't you brush up on your magic while you're here for a while? " Merlin suggested.

Sora nodded." That's a good idea, I haven't casted any spells for a while. Plus, 'Sid mentioned this will be a long journey anyways. "

" Good, that means I can beat the hell out of you until you're black and blue all over. " a voice suddenly said as the door to the house opened.

The group turned around and spotted someone about the same height as Ryker. He had long brown hair, punk clothing, a silver necklace, and a large gunsword in hand.

" I can teach you some new sword techniques as Old Man over there teaches you magic. " he added.

" Leon! Nice to see you again buddy, hyuk. " Goofy said excitedly. Leon looked at Ryker and Aurora and raised an eyebrow.

" Introductions later, I got to eat something. Damn Heartless come in hordes. " Leon said wearily.

After eating a hearty meal and giving introductions, the whole group went to work. Ryker and Leon giving Sora lessons on sword fighting and Merlin taught him magic with Donald's help. Leon was surprised when he found out that Ryker had a vast knowledge of sword fighting but also great experience.

Meanwhile, somewhere else, something completely sinister went down without catching the group's attention.

For three and a half months, Sora and the others trained. Sora now had a complete set of bruises and scars thanks to his hellish training with the swordsmen but had gained muscle as well. He also completely excelled in magic too, but, not enough to rival Donald. Yuffie, really impressed by Ryker, went over to Aurora who was trying to avoid as much contact as possible with the girl.

"Um, hey. How long have you known Alpha for? You seem to be somewhat close to him." she nervously asked.

Aurora gave her a look with hidden annoyance.

 _Somewhat close? Yeah right._ she thought to herself. Finally, she looked back at Ryker and relaxed somewhat.

 _I known Alpha for about 5 months not including how long we have been here._

"Wow. Well, is he always silent whenever he isn't training Sora with Leon? Wait, no, can you tell me what is he like? I didn't get that much from these 3 months with him. " Yuffie replied.

 _Yes, Alpha is usually silent around us. He rarely talks and when he does, it's straight to the point and his conversations don't really last that long. He keeps to himself most of the time and if you noticed, does not show any emotion of any can. I only seen him smile once and since then, he never gave another. But other than that, he is well mannered and helpful in our times in need._ Aurora finished.

Yuffie scratched her head, thinking about her chances of getting with Alpha. Aurora, extremely annoyed, tried to ignore them.

"Do you think I got a chance with him? I want to ask you girl to girl." Yuffie piped up.

That question alone caused Aurora to choke on her salmon, (which Alpha caught for her) she painfully swallowed it down and hesitantly answered.

 _Sure, *cough*, you seem to be nice and you look nice so I guess you have a chance._

At this, Yuffie squealed and vanished with a smoke bomb. Aurora sighed and looked at Ryker again who was now walking towards one of the guest rooms. She got up and followed him. During their time there, Ryker and Aurora shared a room and Sora shared a room with Donald and Goofy. Aurora looked at the room before her. A single bed was set against the wall. She looked at Ryker who noticed her presence.

"Do you need anything, Aurora? " he asked. Aurora looked at him and shook her head. Ryker nodded and went through a door to his left, which led to a shower. He shut the door behind him and left Aurora alone in the room. She looked at the door and sadly thought about the conversation she had with Yuffie. In the end, she thought Yuffie had a better chance with Ryker so Aurora wiped away a stray tear with her paw and hopped onto to bed. This was another thing that pained her. Ryker insisted that she took the bed and he the floor. She didn't want to argue with him so she took the bed. Aurora let out her breath, which she realized that she had been holding it in subconsciously since she entered the room. She then took the time to think about her encounter with Ryker at Mnt. Moon. Ten minutes later, she was too tired to think about anything else, she started to nod off.

At that moment, a knock could be heard at the door.

 _Come in._ Aurora projected towards the mind behind the door. It was then she realized that the person was none other than Yuffie.

Said person poked her head in and walked inside.

"Umm, is he here? " she asked.

 _In the shower._ Aurora replied, clearly annoyed.

"Oh, I guess I'll just wait here until he comes back out." The moment she said that, Aurora immediately became uncomfortable but didn't show it.

"Wait, you sleep on the bed? " Aurora glared at her, not bothering to pretend to be nice.

 _Where else would I sleep, little girl? If you are just going to be annoying, please leave. As you can see, I'm trying to sleep._

Yuffie flushed with anger. Sure she was fifteen and sure she only wore a size... but to be called a child? That was it.

"Well, that bed should be Alpha's, not some oversized animal dog thing like you! " she retorted. This, Aurora didn't care much for. She was not about to lose her temper over something so trivial.

 _For your information, Alpha INSISTED that I take the bed. I tried to convince him otherwise but he wouldn't have it._

Yuffie sneered, not believing what she had just heard.

"Whatever, I bet you just took advantage of the fact that he's really nice so just shove it!"

Aurora laughed at the girl's immaturity which caught Yuffie's attention.

" What's so funny?! " she screeched, that fortunately didn't catch the attention of those outside.

Aurora looked over at Yuffie and yawned.

 _To be honest, I thought you were old enough to be mature about it but that last comment settles it. By the way, Alpha is NOT a pedophile._

Yuffie fumed and ran over to Aurora to deliver a full on punch to the face. Aurora took notice of his and closed her eyes, not being able to move from her position. She waited, but the blow didn't come. She opened her eyes and gasped. Ryker was out of the shower and was now holding Yuffie by the wrist. His hair was dripping and his upper body was still wet. She concluded that he must have heard the commotion and didn't have time to dry himself. Yuffie looked up at Ryker who gave her a glare.

"Alpha, " she said dreamily, missing his angry expression," you look really se-err. I mean, um, will you go out with me? " Ryker looked at her then at Aurora who was shocked at that question.

" Let me ask you a question first. " he said in a low deadly calm voice. His voice alone was enough to scare both Aurora and Yuffie who snapped out of it.

" Why. The. Hell! " he looked straight into Yuffie's eyes who became VERY afraid when she noticed his eye color.

" Did it look like you were going to punch Aurora? " he finished with dark aura pouring out of him.

Yuffie looked at him in curiosity.

" Was it the wrong thing to do? " she retorted. At this, Donald shivered outside.

 _Someone is going to die tonight I think._ he thought, wondering why he was feeling a dreadful presence.

Back in the room, Ryker angrily let go of Yuffie's arm and stood in front of Aurora in a defensive manner. He glared at Yuffie who started to shake visibly.

 _Wait, I'm not going to lose to her._ she thought.

"Well, that BITCH on your bed won't get off. Shouldn't YOU sleep on the bed and let that flea bitten dog sleep on the floor like a good girl? Besides, you may catch diseases from her since I bet she eats shit like other dogs! "

Aurora hung her head low and started to cry. She couldn't believe that the girl actually said that. She really felt hurt and let loose a few tears onto the bed then running out of the room.

Ryker tried to stop her but failed. Finally, he looked at Yuffie who smirked in triumph. That smirk fell, however, as she heard a lot, menacing growl from Ryker. She took a step back.

"What makes you think that you can punch her AND call her names? " he asked her, with venom in his voice.

" She took the bed and-" she started.

"I INSISTED that she should take the bed. I let her sleep there. I wanted to take the floor. It was MY choice to decide, not yours! " he raged.

She looked at him, filled to the brim with fear. Ryker took one look at her and shook his head while putting on another calm look.

" When I'm done talking to Aurora, you better apologize to her. "

He walked out of the room, his clothes materializing onto him, but stopped to look back.

" And about going at with you, one: not interested in children, no offense and two: I would never get together with someone who would hurt Aurora like that. "

And with that, he left the room, leaving Yuffie alone as well as speechless. She took a deep breath, then ran outside hoping to find Leon in his room.

It was sunset and Aurora was seated atop a hill, hiding behind a boulder. She was still crying as she thought about the events that had just occurred back at the house which was well over an hour ago.

 _I bet he believes her. Not only that, no doubt he agreed with her about how I'm a BITCH, a lowly dog, something that should be sleeping on the floor like a "good pet. "_

"Not quite, far off actually. "

Suddenly, a hand was on her shoulder, squeezing her in a friendly matter. She looked up to see Ryker with a sad look on his face.

" You know better than to think that, Aurora. First of all, I told her off. You are not any of those things that she mentioned back there. What's more is that you are not a pet. " he kneeled down to her level so they were face to face. " Aurora, I think that you should know that I consider you family, and I won't let anyone treat you like that let alone, hurt you. So please, Aurora, come back to the house with me. " he finished.

Aurora couldn't believe the words that came out of his mouth. She instantly began to cry even more, but, in happiness. Ryker's eyes widened and he withdrew his hand.

" I'm sorry, I forgot you don't like to be touched. Are you alright? " he asked with worry.

He was suddenly tackled onto his back by Aurora who hugged him and enveloped him in her wings. She let loose more tears and looked at Ryker, silently thanking him. He understood and did something she didn't expect. He hugged her back and held her close to his chest. She was momentarily shocked but instead settled her head against him, enjoying the moment that they shared. Ryker smiled and looked at the descending sun. His smile suddenly vanished however as he looked back down at Aurora.

 _I'm going to have to leave soon. I wish there's something else I could do._ he thought.

For the rest of the afternoon, they watched the sunset. Aurora loved their time together but Ryker was oblivious to it as usual. Eventually, night fell and by then, the duo fell asleep.

Of course, that was after Ryker set up a magic defensive barrier to protect them in their sleep. A poisonous bee was intending to sting one of them but was incinerated as it got too close.

 **So, chapter 4. For those who didn't notice, I don't like Yuffie that much. She's kind of annoying to look at and I can't stand her childish voice. Anyways, I hope you like the chapter and I hope you'll review!**

 **Characters**

 **Ryker /Alpha Fang, (m), 20, human?**

 **Aurora North, (f), 19, Islingr Suicune**

 **Chip and Dale, (m),?, chipmunks**

 **Sora, (m), 16, human**

 **Donald, (m),?, duck**

 **Goofy, (m),?, dog**

 **Minnie, (f),?, mouse**

 **Daisy, (f),?, duck**

 **Merlin, (m),110, wizard**

 **Leon, (m), 18, human swordsman**

 **Yuffie, (f), 15, human ninja**

 **Cid, (m), 30's, human engineer**


	6. Chapter 5

**Here's chapter 5, if you recall from last time, the group arrive at Hollow Bastion. They meet up with Merlin and the others and Yuffie gets in an argument with Aurora. It was about to get physical until Ryker steps in and tells off Yuffie. He later catches up with Aurora and comforts her which led to them sleeping together on a hill. Alright, down to business.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon or Kingdom Hearts.**

 **Chapter 5: Departure of The Alpha**

Aurora woke to a beautiful morning, birds were singing and the sea was shimmering. She yawned and stretched then finally realized that Ryker was no longer there. She was about to get up but relaxed when she heard his footsteps behind the boulder. She turned to face him and saw that he had a freshly caught salmon the size of Goofy's shield. He offered it to her with a warm smile which melted her on the spot. She gratefully accepted her breakfast and started to devour the fish hungrily, wishing she hadn't missed dinner the night before. Ryker sat beside her and started to eat his meal as well, a salmon of a smaller size.

"Are you ready to go back? " he asked after they finished their breakfast. Aurora looked at him with a sad expression.

 _I doubt they'll let me in after that incident yesterday. Plus, it may cause a scene if Yuffie sees me. You can go on without me._

" No. " he said, catching Aurora off guard.

" Come with me. If they have something to say, they'll have to go through me and the rest of us. We're here for you Aurora, never forget that. " With that, he got up and gave her a serious look. Aurora sighed and let a little smile appear on her face. She got up and together, they walked to the house.

The moment Ryker and Aurora walked into the house, Leon rushed up and grabbed Ryker by the collar.

"Who do you think you are telling off Yuffie! I should kill you right now for that you know! Wait, I think I'll do just that. "

The next two seconds went by so fast that Aurora and the rest of the group didn't register what had happened.

Leon swung his fist towards Ryker's face who caught it with ease unflinching. Leon followed it up with a roundhouse kick which Ryker evaded and rolled underneath. Ryker grabbed Leon's foot which was still suspended in the air and yanked. Leon fell backwards and his back connected with Ryker's knee. Ryker then grabbed Leon's arm and pinned it behind his back. Leon gritted his teeth in pain.

"Before you start jumping to conclusions, why don't you ask BOTH of the parties for their stories. Then you would get an idea of who's in the wrong and who's in the right. " Ryker stated.

Yuffie and Merlin gasped, not believing their eyes because of the fact that Leon had LOST, something he never did. Cid whistled and clapped his hands. Ryker let go of Leon and turned to Sora.

" Have you got any leads on The Organization lately? "

" Actually, we were about to start looking for you. Cid's cameras caught one of them in an alleyway near here. Anyways, what happened between the four of you? " Sora replied.

" Nothing, but if you really want to know, you can ask Yuffie for the details. " Ryker said as he walked towards his room. Aurora ducked her head to avoid the stares from the group and followed Ryker.

The group's attention turned to Yuffie, who was currently burying her face in guilt.

" Yuffie, do you have anything to say? " Leon asked, wincing as he rubbed his back.

Yuffie looked at her and the others and sighed.

Back in the room, Ryker was putting on his jacket and fingerless gloves. Aurora walked over to him and nudged his hand to get his attention.

 _You don't have to defend me you know. You could have just let Yuffie win and be done with the argument._

Ryker looked at her and gave her a knowing look that ended the conversation dealing with Yuffie. When he turned back around, Aurora showed a small smile, glad that Ryker was willing to fight for her.

"Let's go, we need to check out that alleyway. " he said suddenly. Aurora nodded and followed him out the door. Outside, Yuffie finished telling the others the WHOLE story and solemnly walked over to Ryker.

" I'm sorry Alpha, I shouldn't have done that and I hope you forgive me. "

" It's not me you need to apologize to, " he pointed at Aurora," she's the one that deserves an apology. If your lucky, she may forgive you like the nice person she is. " he added. He walked out the door and mentally told Aurora to try and work things out with Yuffie if she wanted. Aurora agreed and sat down on the carpet next to Donald and Goofy, who were still sleeping. Sora and Leon, who had a stern look on his face, followed Ryker out the door. Merlin and Cid got up from their seats and left Aurora and Yuffie for their privacy. Said characters looked at each other wondering who would speak first.

Ryker walked down the pathway, occasionally checking Sora's map and looking at the sun.

"Hey Alpha, are you sure you don't need my compass? " Sora asked.

" No, I can just look at the sun's position to tell what direction we're going. " he replied, short and to the point as usually.

Sora looked back at Leon, who was deep in thought about earlier events. Sora shrugged and figured that he would find out later.

" Wait! Alpha, how are you going to fight without a keyblade? "

Ryker turned his head and looked at Sora.

" I'll do fine. " he answered. He turned back around and rounded a corner.

Sora sighed and gave up, he thought that he should have known by now that trying to start a long conversation with Ryker was nearly impossible. On their way, Sora found a tent, AP recovery, and a serenity shard.

"How much longer until we get there? " he asked, clearly bored.

" About a fifteen minute walk. " Ryker replied.

Leon sped up his pace and caught up with Ryker.

" Hey, Alpha. " he started, nervous that said person may not in the mood to be talking.

" Look, sorry for earlier and for the things Yuffie said and did. Well, Yuffie is still a young kid so try not to be so hard on her is all I ask of you. " he finished.

Ryker folded the map and looked at Leon, who was scratching the back of his head, obviously showing his nervousness.

" I'm not being hard on her at all. In fact, I'm not even mad anymore. Though the reason why I was mad at her was because of the words that blurted out of her mouth. Fifteen year olds shouldn't even be talking like that. But anyways, don't worry about it, you don't have to apologize. Also, Aurora just notified me that they finished making up back in the house. Oh and sorry about our fight. Self-defense. " Ryker finished.

Leon nodded with relief, although was surprised with the fact that Ryker was cool about it now. Meanwhile, Sora was in the back with an incredulous look, mad at the fact that Leon got the quiet fighter in front to talk.

 _Unfair._ the teen thought.

Back at the house, Aurora was sipping some tonic from Merlin, who said it was to treat visions.

"With this, next time you will have a vision, you'll be able to tell if it's real or if it's just a dream. " he had said.

She didn't tell him what happened in her dream but, instead, just told him that she felt like she had one. Aurora finished the bitter drink and thought to herself.

 _If that dream was a vision, who could it be. That figure that was supposed to be my "mate" didn't look like anyone I know. Still, I felt a very familiar presence from him._

Aurora silenced her thoughts once she heard Yuffie walking over to her. Yuffie sat down on a nearby chair and twiddled her thumbs.

"So, we're ok right? You forgave me? "

Aurora looked over at her and nodded in conformation, earning a sigh of relief from the girl. Yuffie then smiled and looked at Aurora again.

" Hey, there's a good place I know to get some ice cream funnel cake. Would you like to come with? "

Aurora was surprised by this but smiled. She nodded and together, with a new small friendship formed, walked out of the house to get their desert.

Ryker and the other two stopped in front of the alleyway. Sora stepped up and gave a nod to the others. He stepped in and Ryker and Leon followed him in.

The area was deserted. No traces of any kind could be seen in the alleyway. Sora sneaked to the corner of the wall and peered through the gate. No one was there save for some birds settling on the nearby trees.

"No one-" Sora began.

That moment, Nobodies appeared and this time, a few Samurai materialized. A barrier surrounded the group and Sora and Leon prepared drew their weapons. Ryker simply summoned flames that enveloped his fists, immediately turning up the heat in the area. However, Leon grabbed a shortsword from his belt and threw to Ryker who caught it.

"You should use this sword. Those new Nobodies over there look aggressive. "

Ryker looked at the sword and shrugged his shoulders.

 _This'll do for now._

He got into a ready position and waited for the others to make their move.

Later, Aurora and Yuffie came back from the town center. Yuffie was licking vanilla ice cream off her fingers and Aurora was chewing on a cherry that came from the funnel cake. There was a festival in town so the funnel cakes were extremely cheap. They turned a corner and stopped. In front of them, was one of the Organization. The figure, however, noticed them, and went towards the direction of Ryker and the others. Aurora and Yuffie looked at each other then went after him.

Ryker blocked a downwards stroke from the Samurai and countered with a fireball to its face. He jumped back and sent a few more to the Nobodies who got near him. He looked around and saw that Sora was already getting tired. Leon was sweating but looked like he could last for about another 15 or so minutes. Ryker snapped back to attention and saw one of the Samurai get into a stance, challenging Ryker for a duel. He smirked and sat down, accepting the invitation. The two of them didn't move for a moment. Suddenly, the Samurai twitched his arm as he prepared to attack. Ryker, however, saw this ahead of time and attacked, finishing off the Samurai before it could even draw its sword. Ryker turned around and spotted Yuffie and Aurora running towards him, Yuffie with a giant shruiken in hand.

"What are you doing here? " Ryker shouted over the din.

Yuffie pointed towards his direction and he turned around. On a rock ledge, was an Organization member, monitoring the situation before him. Ryker halted in place, thinking of the outcomes that may happen if he did this or that. Finally, he gripped and sword, and ran towards the barrier.

"Hold them off while I try to nab him! " he shouted.

The others nodded in confirmation. Ryker reached the barrier and took a deep breath.

 _No barrier can hold you back, you are The Alpha afterall. A barrier of this caliber is nothing._ he thought.

He exhaled and punched the barrier with little but precise and deadly force. The barrier shattered and he walked through the now empty space. The rest of the barrier lowered and this didn't get unnoticed by the rest of the group. Sora, who had been charging up his power, released it, forming a powerful D-thundaga. A few seconds later, all of the Nobodies were wiped out. The group relaxed, relieved that the enemy wasn't spawning anymore. They quickly tensed however, when they heard the clashing sounds from the combat between the hooded figure and Ryker. The hooded man had beam swords which glowed red with energy. He was losing though to Ryker's superior skill of swordplay. As a result, the hooded figure summoned a dark portal, intending to escape through it. Unfortunately for him, Ryker wasn't allowing the hooded figure to slip past him.

Out of a last ditch effort, the Organization member shot a high speed beam heading for the nearest target: Aurora, who was busy tending a slash wound (damn annoying Samurai) . Ryker, who saw this, made a split decision and made his way to Aurora. He got in front of her just in time.

 _It's about time for me to go anyway._ he thought as he threw his sword at his attacker, succeeding and having him slump towards the floor impaled as he went.

Aurora looked up just to see Ryker get a red beam to his gut, going about halfway through with his blood splashing a side of her face and painted the floor below him. She was too shocked to react when she saw Ryker falling backwards towards the portal that was summoned by the enemy. As he fell, he turned to her and mouthed five words, the last words she'll ever hear from him.

"I'm sorry and thanks, friend. " he mouthed.

The portal of darkness then moved as Ryker secretly manipulated it and swallowed him, disappearing without a trace.

The area was silent, everyone had a shocked look on their faces. As for Aurora, she felt a piece of her heart shattered, never to be put back together by any means. Aurora's legs gave away and she fell towards the ground, ending up in a somewhat sitting position. Tears streamed from her eyes and froze as they contacted with the ground. Sora had a pained look and Leon was on the verge on punching the nearest rock... or person. Yuffie fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands, not believing what had just happened.

 _Why,_ Aurora thought, not bothering to hide them from the others, _why did you do that you idiot!? Why the hell you have to be so Arceus-damned caring?! Why did you do it Ryker!?_ she screamed to the world. She seemed to break down even more as she said that. _I didn't get to tell you "I love you" yet._ she thought sadly to herself, letting more tears fall.

The others noticed that she said "Ryker" instead of "Alpha" but that was the least of their concerns. Leon got up and looked to where the Organization member was laying. However, all that remained was a bloody shortsword.

"Hey, " he began," the hooded guy's still alive. "

The others flinched at this comment but didn't say a word. However, Aurora got up and turned around, undying rage clear in her eyes.

 _I swear that the next time I see another one of those black-hooded bastards, I will kill him or her. It may be the first of their members to die, but it certainly won't be their last. It'll happen soon though, I promise you that._ she said in a cold voice, dry ice cold to be specific.

The others shivered, wondering who should they be sorry for: Aurora or the Organization?

Aurora turned back around and noticed a glimmer near the pool of blood Ryker had left. She walked towards it and found a beautiful necklace with a note attached to it. She picked up the necklace with **Psychic.** The chain was silver and was glowing with a holy power. Each link had a dry ice crystal studded with sapphires set into it and was surprisingly light. The main part of the necklace however, was stunning. It was a tear-drop shaped sapphire with an image of a crescent moon carved into it which was silver. On the sides of the gem, were angelic wings with blue waves engraved onto them, the waves flowing outwards like the wings.

 _It's so beautiful. Beyond that._ Yuffie and Aurora thought at the same time.

Aurora then took a look at the note and almost fainted when she read it. The words (which were very neat, kinda resembles Harry Potter's) read: _To Aurora, to whom I enjoy every minute of company with. To whom I have to leave for her sake. Happy 20th Birthday Milady! I hope you like your gift. I made this necklace for you because you are my one and only friend. This chain is made of dry ice studded with sapphires. The chain itself is made of a rare steel native to my homeland, Celestial Adamantine is its name. Oh, the whole necklace is made with the energy I took from the the keyblade. The large gem in the middle is a sapphire that I enchanted. This will increase your water and light based attacks. It will also make you practically invisible when you want to be and will silence your every movement for stealth purposes. Finally, with this, you will be able to mentally contact anyone anywhere in the world. Eventually, you won't need this to do that and you will become just as powerful without it. This necklace will always adjust to your size if it should change and the necklace will never break or rust. Oh, and you'll get a great surprise should you focus your energy into the necklace. I hope you like it. - Ryker_

 _PS: If I go before giving you this personally, I'm sorry. I really regret it but it has to happen for the better.._

Aurora broke out in tears again and held both the paper and the necklace close to her chest. She stayed in that position for about a whole hour, crying to herself and silently cursing under her breath as well realizing that she forgot that it was her birthday. The others just watched, wondering when she will be ok to leave. She was the only one who was close to Ryker, the only one who could get him to talk, the only one who could get him to smile...

She shook herself, willing herself to be strong. She put on the necklace and walked to the others. Yuffie was about to ask a question but Aurora cut her off by planting the note into Yuffie's palm. Aurora walked towards the edge of a cliff, determination in her stride.

 _I WILL get stronger for him. I won't need anyone to protect me anymore. I won't let your death be in vain Ryker._

Yuffie and the others finished reading the note and looked at Aurora in shock. Yuffie, on the other hand, was jealous.

 _So what she got a necklace from him. That doesn't imply that he loved her. Well, I guess he can't if he ever does now._ she sadly thought.

They looked at Aurora who was staring at something towards the horizon. The group caught up with her and gasped when they saw what she was so focused at. On the wasteland before them, was a horde of Heartless and Nobodies with numbers that easily surpassed a few thousand. They stepped back but Aurora remained stoic.

Aurora thought back to the note and changed into her Battle Form, growing into a total of about 50-70 feet tall, shocking the group (That's right, legendaries with badass heights compare her size like this, her paw and a tree is like our feet and a paw is freaking huge) . She then focused her energy and mingled with the energy of the necklace, which glowed with a blue/white aura. The next moment, no one who saw this would ever forget.

A bright flash enveloped Aurora (see what I did? Aurora? Lights?.. shut up) and another moment later, the light dimmed down, but a glow still remained. Aurora was now in full armor that also serves as something to wear for parties. Her head had a circlet with a sapphire studded in the middle. The ends of her circlet extended to shield the side of her face. From her neck down to her shoulders, was plate armor as well, every separate piece had a few sapphires that dazzled in the reflection of the sun. From her chest to her middle, was armor that had two holes for her wings. In the middle of the armor covering her chest, was a VERY large sapphire (proportional to her size) with a moving image of waves in the center. Her hind legs had armor as well, in fact, all of her leg armor had a fringe to them (basically, the armor forms the branches of a E that extends from the ankle area. The lowest branch being the shortest, the middle being the second largest, and the third branch the largest). Even her wings had armor on them, which, at the curves (where her wings fold like an arm, not the base on her shoulder, but the one where a bat's finger would be, that fold), where huge sapphire orbs, resembling Dialga's adamant orb but were beautiful like her eyes (two wing orbs total). Her tails weren't armored but at the ends, were two bracelets lined with small sapphires. All of her armor was made with Celestial Adamantine.

Aurora's eyes widened when she took a look at herself. For some unknown reason, she knew that Ryker had handcrafted the armor himself, just like the necklace

She felt the same energy from it that she felt from the necklace that was now enlarged, hanging from her neck. She figured that the armor had the same enchantments as the necklace did.

 _You know, this explains why he was gone for a few days earlier this month._ she thought, also wondering how much time and energy was put into the gift.

Aurora looked at the horde of enemies, who noticed her and grew slightly nervous as they felt the power emanating from her. She gave the horde a grim look and let loose a piercing yet very beautiful cry, striking fear (fear? in heartless and nobodies? what the hell?) into the very being of her enemies. She lowered her gaze from the sky and leaped into the fray.

Everywhere she went, beautiful destruction followed. Everywhere she stepped, ice rose from her previous spots and impaled everything that was unlucky to be in its range. Whenever she landed after leaping from area to area, a dry ice shockwave would form and freeze anything and everything in its path as it expanded. Aurora's claws were coated with light as well as ice and whenever she accidently (or purposely) stepped on the enemy, it would freeze then shatter as she stepped down. Her mane was flowing like usual but at her thought, it released a powerful cascade of water that would flood the area below her. Every few minutes, she would release a cry that would freeze any Heartless that was within a few feet from her (again, consider her size, don't want her to be too powerful :-) ). She sometimes would fire an **Ice Pillar** that was similar to an **Ice Beam** but was in totally different in levels of power. All the while, Aurora never stopped shedding tears over her now dead crush.

Sora and his party watched with awe and in shock. How powerful can one be? There she was pouncing, slashing, and sometimes, biting. She used a variety of special attacks as well as a lot of physical attacks. They watched as she already decimated about 1/3 of the horde under a minute. That of which made them wonder the same question: who would win: Ryker or Aurora?

Unbeknownst to them, Merlin and the others at the house were watching since Ryker had started fighting the Organization member. Goofy was crying, Donald was furious, and Merlin was silent with sadness. Cid was watching as well and muttered a stream of curse words ending with "through his ass on a stick" They all thought Ryker was a nice guy and grieved.

Everyone watched Aurora battle and gasped with wonder as rainbows streamed from the area she was in. Unknown to them, the light used to reflect the colors of the rainbow was using her tears like a watery mist on a sunny day. The battle went on for another three minutes and suddenly, Aurora flew high into the sky until all the Heartless and Nobodies were in her field of vision.

 _Brace yourselves and go through._ she emotionlessly warned the others. As she said that, she created a portal, something all legendaries can do, and charged an ice ball of energy. The others quickly went inside and found themselves in Merlin's house. Merlin quickly ushered them towards the crystal ball he had and watched.

Aurora was still in the sky with the ice ball. Her eyes flashed blue and she let out another cry, this one louder than the others. She then closed her wings around the ball which resulted in a powerful explosion. A ring of ice expanded and pulsed through the land and everything on it of in the air within a 5 mile radius froze. The ring then contracted, shattering the ice as it did so. Aurora then finished the attack by flapping her wings. It only took one flap to scatter the ice shards that remained which impaled anything else that eluded the ring of ice. Aurora then let out a cry once more and all the ice melted into water and seeped into the land.

Nothing remained after that devastating attack but a few large puddles.

 _Dry Maelstrom_ Aurora finished.

The group back at the house stared open mouthed, thinking that she had just unleashed frozen hell like it was nothing. Suddenly, a portal appeared beside them. Aurora stepped out of it, already back in Altered Form. Her armor disappeared but the necklace, bracelets, and the tail rings remained. Her circlet remained as well but the ends weren't extended but rather looked more like jewelery than armor. Aurora sighed and looked at the others, who looked at her incredulously. She merely sighed wearily and went to her room.

 _Please don't disturb me and let me know when we are leaving for the next world. But for now, I need some time alone. Good night._ And with that, she psychically closed the door.

Yuffie looked at the clock, it was still 3 pm. The others knew better than to bother Aurora and complied to her wishes. Little did they know, this was a great day of change for all of them.

 **Two Years Later**

Sora leaned back against his chair and scratched his hair. He, his buddy, Riku, his childhood friend, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy (the secret cricket who tagged along with them), were relaxing on a huge trunk of a tree that stretched out to the sea. Sora frowned and looked towards the sea, focusing on a certain area where two trees rose from the water. They marked the entrance to Aurora's underwater cave. She had been staying there ever since they came back from their fight with Xemnas the month before. She rarely came out and if she did, it was to hunt. But now, even that was rare. Sora sighed, earning a knowing look from his best friends.

Since that day when Alpha passed, Aurora was becoming more and more distant with each passing week. Though, she still had conversations with them and smiled a bit here and there. But other than that, she kept quiet. At least she wasn't completely anti-social like Alpha had been. They left Hallow Bastion after researching a bit about a man by the name of Ansem and defeating a computer virus. They went to a world of China, a coliseum with an Underworld, the wild where they each (save for Aurora) turned into animals, a port with pirates, a nightmarish world, a dessert, a dark castle, Twilight Town again, an underwater world, and The World That Never Was. Sora shuddered as he remembered how Aurora reacted to Xemnas when he appeared in that white void.

 _(flashback)_

 _Sora, Riku, and Aurora were in a white void when suddenly Xemnas appears with a smirk on his face. He talked about some nonsense about wanting hearts but the moment he showed his beam blades, Aurora remembered. It clicked in her head that this was the man who killed Ryker. After that, all she saw was red._

 _Sora saw the whole thing go down. He and Riku didn't move an inch as Aurora attacked, fearing for their lives. Xemnas didn't have time to react as Aurora bit down on his arm, spraying blood into the air. Xemnas screamed and tried to get her to let go but Aurora would not have it. However, he pulled too hard at one point and Aurora got irritated so she ripped off his arm, making Sora and Riku flinch. Xemnas screamed in agony as Aurora spat out his arm and rid of the blood in her mouth. Xemnas shot a beam at her with his other hand but she merely took it. To his horror, she was still walking towards him, with only a couple of scratches on her face. He tried to get away bit she froze his feet to the ground ending the chances of escape. Xemnas looked at her in fear but screamed again as she shot an_ _ **Ice Beam**_ _through his chest. He felt his insides grow cold with every step she took. She came face to, well, muzzle with him and bared her teeth. It finally dawned on Xemnas that this was the very same creature from two years before. He had tried to kill her but the one with the dark aura jumped in the way and took the hit. Xemnas was scared beyond belief now. He had killed someone that was most likely very close to her and it may have costed him his life. However, at the last moment, Aurora backed away, looking at her necklace before sighing. "I am not a murderer" she had said. She then allowed Riku and Sora to finish Xemnas off with a combo._

 _(present)_

Sora shivered at the memory. The others looked at him but he didn't notice.

"She didn't even get into Battle Form. " he said.

The others shrugged and went back to what they were doing.

Sora looked out towards the sea and suddenly saw a white stag descend into the water. Sora smiled because he knew it was time for Aurora to go to her homeland. He had a lot of explaining to do to his friends when he tells them that Aurora left. She asked him to explain to the others before she started to leave the underwater cave.

 _Goodbye Aurora_ he thought.

Aurora and Arceus were in the Hall of Origins, walking down one of the many hallways. Aurora was silent the whole time.

 _I'm glad you succeeded in your mission safely._ Arceus stated suddenly.

Aurora only nodded and continued walking. Arceus sighed and knew that she should know better.

 _I am truly sorry about Alpha, I would not have given you two that mission if I knew that he was-_ she started.

 _It's ok, Lady Arceus, he didn't go in vain. I know you can't change fate_. Aurora stated, clearly wanting the conversation to end.

Arceus nodded sadly and they continued walking. About another five minutes of walking, they ran into Deoxys, who had a smirk on his face.

 _Hey sweet cheeks, congrats on the mission._ he started. _How 'bout we grab somethin' to eat later?_ he asked as he reached for her rump.

Aurora suddenly turned on him, biting down on his arm and freezing it entirely. Deoxys screamed and pulled back his arm, which was severely damaged.

 _I NEVER will go out with you, Neo. And if you try something like that again, I swear with Lady Arceus as my witness, I will put another hole in your face finally giving you a mouth to shut the hell up!_ Aurora spat.

Neo backed away in fear then thought of something that caused him to smirk.

 _I see that the human you were with isn't here, what happened? Did he run away with his tail between his legs? Oh wait, he died, pathetic._ he said with a sneer.

This caused an eruption of fury within Aurora and she was about to bash his head in but Arceus stepped in between them.

 _Enough, Deoxys, silence yourself. And Lady Islingr Suicune, he wouldn't want you to go off like this._

Aurora stopped, thinking about Ryker and how he always tried to talk and negotiate instead of fighting, even though he was the one who ended up winning later...

Aurora turned and continued down the hallway, Arceus in her tracks. Deoxys looked after them and smiled.

 _I'll have you one day, my sweet._

Aurora and Arceus were now in the Court of Origins, where the legendaries had meetings and the like.

Arceus looked at Aurora who looked like she needed a good nap. This worried Arceus but she decided to leave Aurora alone for now.

 _Oh, I took care of the Weather Trio while you were gone. They will bring in The Plane of Exile for a while so you don't have to worry about them._ she said.

Aurora looked over at Arceus with a smile that caused Arceus to stop walking. The smile was full of such sadness and hurt...

 _Thank you, Milady. I'll be going back to my home in Cerulean Falls now._

Aurora opened up a portal and went through it. Arceus bit the inside of her mouth and floated back the way she came, intending to deal with Deoxys.

 **Cerulean Falls**

Aurora sighed as she laid down in her bed of lush frost-covered grass and closed her eyes. She thought of going to Mnt. Moon but she couldn't. The memories she had of her time with Ryker were to painful to bear. Aurora let a tear drop from one of her eyes and slowly, she fell asleep. Little did she know, a quadrapedal entity watched over her while she slept and vanished. From that night on, it protected her in her sleep.

 **Three Years Later**

The Bidoof ran through the bushes, hoping to escape the predator that was after it. It ran towards the direction of its home, turning its head around to try and spot its pursuer. A white blur whizzed past the bushes and came towards the Bidoof. The Bidoof panicked and bolted. It turned around one more and found that it wasn't being chased anymore. The Bidoof relaxed and stopped, only to have fangs sink into its back, instantly killing it.

The air shimmered and a white dog-like creature with a blue mane appeared, Bidoof in mouth.

 _I love this necklace. Invisibility and total silence really helps. Note to self: Activate it BEFORE the hunt._ Aurora thought.

She then ran back towards her home hidden behind a waterfall. She stepped inside the cave and lay down in the pool of water. Her home was like an oasis. A large pond with some grass and plants surrounded it. In the center of the pool, was a bed of grass that was covered with frost, chilling the pond of water around it. Aurora began devouring the Bidoof, spitting out a few bones as she did so. When she finished eating, she psychically picked up the pile of bones and threw them through a portal that she had summoned, which led to the pool of lava in a volcano that Entei lived in. She closed the portal and stretched her legs.

 _I should visit The Ruins of Alph today, I hear that there was some interesting legends there._

She yawned and looked to the sky through the waterfall. It has been five years since that day, and there wasn't a day that she hadn't thought of Alpha. Aurora gave a sad smile and looked at the necklace and the other jewelery it came with. She closed her eyes and exhaled, relaxing as she remembered the person who gave her this gift.

The day she changed into Battle Form with her armor against the horde of enemies really tired her out. She never did that again since she felt like she didn't need to. But, she wore the beautiful and appealing armor to The Meetings whenever Arceus called for one, always earning a look of lust from the males (save for her brothers and a few select males), a look of envy from a few females, and a smile from Arceus who knew where Aurora had got it from. A few males had tried to forcefully advance on her but it always resulted in them walking or flying away limping along with frostbite.

After letting her food digest, Aurora got up from her position and headed off towards the ruins. She went into a river, deciding to swim her way there.

 **Ruins of Alph**

Aurora walked down one of the passageways, reading the Ancient Dialect (which can be only spoken by Arceus (who taught all legendaries how to read it but not speak it) and a select few on the walls and acknowledging a few Unkowns. She stopped at a wall however as something caught her eye. A stone tablet had something smudges over the corner of it. Aurora let loose a small jet of water at the corner and the muck washed away revealing a hidden passage.

 _There was once a group known as The Knights of Alph. Each Knight represented a plate of Arceus, with the Knight of Light being the leader and the Knight of Shadows and Flames being the strongest (so a Knight of each type, remember, light is a type with Aurora being the only one left with that type) . The Knights were chosen humans, some being pokemon with tremendous power. The Knight of Bolts, a powerful Pikachu, is said to be accompanying a human in his/her travels. The Knights were a powerful group, but one of their own led them to their downfall. The Knight of the Undead, a powerful Gengar, betrayed each of them and took their lives, one by one. One day, Arceus appeared before The Traitor and passed judgement upon him, proclaiming him guilty. Arceus sealed The Traitor and had bound him for all eternity. However, only one with the power of Light can truly defeat him._ _However, the only known species with that power went extinct, taking the power of light with them._ she translated.

Aurora's eyes widened in surprise but shook it off. This was only a legend, nothing more. However, she saw a gem below the passage, drawing her nearer. Without knowing why, she blasted it with light which caused it to shine brightly. The floor beneath her gave away, and with the debris, she fell.

Aurora woke to find herself in a chamber with statues of men and pokemon in armor. Each had a symbol representing their type. However, the statue of the Knight of Shadows and Flames was crushed, but the pieces were nowhere to be seen. Aurora walked down to the center of the room, where a glowing pillar awaited. The pillar seemed to react to her power and gave a bright flash. Aurora stepped back and as the glow died down, a figure stepped forth. It was a Gengar.

This Gengar had plate armor and a large two-handed sword on his back. That was not all. This Gengar was humanoid and also had larger arms than normal and a fingers. He also had legs like that of a man. On his head, a single horn resided. The Gengar smiled and looked at the broken ceiling. Finally, he spoke in the Ancient Dialect.

 _"Free! Finally free! I can finally get revenge on that blasted Arceus!_ He turned around and raised his hands. _Knights of the old, rise and serve me in my conquest in conquering the temples of Arceus!"_

As he said that, a Knight of each type rose from the ground, their flesh pulling themselves back together and bones shifted back together. Finally, all Knights stood before Aurora, each were restored as if they didn't died. The only one who wasn't there was the Knight of Shadows and Flames. The Traitor turned around, seeming to finally notice Aurora.

 _Ah, you will be my first victim, being of Light and Water._ he said.

Aurora shivered and stepped back while baring her teeth. This caused The Traitor to laugh maniacally. After a moment, he regained his mirth and pointed a finger at her.

 _Fool, the only one who was powerful enough to stand up against me was the Knight of Shadows and Flames. His family line was powerful indeed but I killed them off a long time ago. Nothing can save you._

His finger radiated a ghostly energy and shot a powerful beam at her. Aurora was so surprised at the speed of the projectile, she didn't have time to dodge. Not that she needed to anyway. She was suddenly tackled to the side and the ghost beam passed harmlessly behind her and struck a wall.

The Traitor gave a glare.

 _Ah, you're the last Knight of Shadows and Flames. I'm surprised, I killed off your family so this is certainly a surprise._

Aurora looked up at her rescuer and saw a tall man clad in black armor (if you play Skyrim, think of draedic armor but without the red). What caught her eye was the gem that was settled on the Knight's gauntlets. On each gauntlet, was a Twilight Gem, an orb of darkness that has a white color to it. There was a larger one as well on the Knight's chest. His helmet was black as well and only covered the bottom half of his face. Aurora gasped as she looked at his eyes.

They were white with a black pupil.

The Traitor charged and swung his large sword, only to be blocked by another. Aurora looked at the sword. The silver hilt was a hand and a half long and the blade itself was about two and a half feet long. The 3 and a half inch wide blade was black and had serrated edges, making it even deadlier. The serrated edges, including the tip, were lined with magical energy that radiated heat from the blade (so black blade with white edges). The cross guard (the part between the blade and hilt I think) was silver like the hilt and had a Twilight Gem in the middle. The cross guard had two demon-like (or dragon or bat, whatever) wings on the side, extending outwards giving the cross guard about 7 inches in width.

The Traitor growled and backed off, landing near the other Knights.

 _You are lucky, but next time we meet, I will be at full power and nothing will stop me. Not even you, dog!_

The Traitor and the rest of his group vanished leaving Aurora and her savior alone.

The Knight relaxed and looked at Aurora. His eyes suddenly widened in recognition as he stepped back. However, Aurora spoke first, tears flowing from her eyes.

 _Ryker, is that you? Is it really you?_

The Knight tensed, then regained his composure. He walked down over to her and checked her body, testing her legs for injuries.

"Are you hurt anywhere, Aurora? " he asked.

He turned to face her only to get tackled onto his back. Aurora was on top of him, crying waterfalls and burying her face on his chest, soaking his armor.

 _Ryker! *sob* Ryker! You're alive! Arceus I missed you so much and I swear if you do that again YOU WILL REGRET IT YOU IDIOT!_ she cried.

Ryker was shocked, feeling a bit of deja vu, but shook it off. Aurora looked at him, still crying, and he looked at her. Then, he hugged her and smiled, which gave her a feeling of ecstasy.

"I'm sorry, if I stayed with you that day, I would have drawn more trouble and enemies towards us and I wanted you safe. So, when that red beam hit me, I had to manipulate the portal to send me here. I've been staying here for five years, staying under Arceus's radar and guarding the seal. I really sorry Aurora, I truly am... I missed you too and I'm glad that you completed the quest. " he explained.

Aurora merely cried harder and started to stamp on Ryker with her paw. She continued hitting him for a while longer. Ryker did nothing against it.

 _Whatever, you idiot. You're here now and I'm just fine with that. I forgive you._ she finished.

Ryker was surprised that she forgave him and looked into her eyes.

"Thank you. "

Aurora simply smiled, tears still running and hugged him again.

 _Wait, does that mean you were in Kanto all these years!?_

They were outside sitting on the roof of a temple of the ruins. Ryker had just finished explained himself to Aurora. Apparently, he was the last Knight of Shadows and Flames. However, his powers naturally came to him as it had nothing to do with being a Knight. Also, Ryker was only a Knight since he was 15, giving him a huge amount of responsibility. Each Knights had different roles and each live in a different area. When Aurora asked Ryker about his sword, he said that he made it himself when he was seventeen and never had to use it until earlier. The sword was made of Twilight Diamond, the hardest known metal material in the world bit was rare and can only be found in Ryker's homeland (which he didn't tell where). This ore never rusts or breaks and can only be forged into a blade or Amor with huge amounts of magic. It also gives off a dark black glow, making the shadows in the area dance. The edges of the blade will ignite anything, or anyone, on fire and will not extinguish unless the wielder allows it.

"I made it of course. " he replied to her earlier question." The armor as well. " he added.

Aurora was surprised, she never knew he was a smith.

" The armor is made of the same material as the sword, and, it has the same properties. Being flame proof, unbreakable, etc. Twilight Diamond metal is really tough, I'd say even indestructible. " he added.

Aurora nodded, which made the necklace give off a glare when it reflected the sun. This caught Ryker's attention and he gave her another smile.

 _If he keeps this up, I'll turn into a puddle._ she thought dreamily as she shuddered mentally.

" Do you like my birthday gift to you? " he asked.

She gave him a look and a huge smile that answered his question silently. Ryker, pleased with himself, leaned down against the roof, releasing a sigh of contentment. Aurora looked at him and noticed a few new things. His hair was spiked (think of Roxas's and Riku's hair together) longer and reached down to his neck, the strands of his hair turned black from about halfway to the tip (so think of flames, about halfway to the tip, it changes color), his voice was deeper, he was a few inches taller, and (she shuddered at this) his muscles are even more defined, slightly larger than they were five years ago, keeping his medium muscle build. His hands had calluses, probably from training so much. He was really handsome as well, not that he wasn't before. Finally, his chin was somewhat chiseled.

Aurora built up her courage and ignored her nervousness, swallowing the lump in her throat as she did so.

 _Ryker,_ she started, _I need to tell you something personal._

Ryker tensed at her seriousness and looked at her, raising his eyebrows in concern.

"What is it? " he asked gently.

Aurora blushed but continued, noticing that the sun was slowly descending on the horizon.

 _I...I... *sigh* Ryker, I always wanted to tell you this for a long time and was absolutely devastated when I thought you died 5 years ago. I have always thought of you since that day, from the time you saved me, the day you stood up for me, when you took that blow for me..., and today, when you saved me. You're always helping everyone, being the person you are, it's easy for me to confirm my feelings for you._ She sighed again. _I want to tell you that... I.. I.. I love you Ryker, and there isn't anyone else that makes me feel this way. I know this may be unusual, given our species, but it's the truth and I understand if you don't feel the same way. But please,_ she started to cry. _please continue to be my friend and don't hate me Ryker..._

She broke down, crying her heart out and thought that he hated her now. She felt that she had just ended their friendship just because she told him of her feelings. She immediately hated herself.

Her hatred turned into surprise however, when Ryker suddenly hugged her, rubbing one of her wings as he did so, sending a shiver down her spine. She looked at him to see an unreadable expression. Ryker leaned closer and Aurora closed her eyes, preparing for the rejection she was about to receive.

"Aurora, " Ryker whispered," did you know my heart was taken away long ago? "

Aurora's heart suddenly dropped, almost causing her to die of heartbreak. But Ryker's hard gaze prevented her to break eye contact.

 _No._ she answered silently, fresh tears streamed from the side of her face.

" She is the most beautiful being I have ever seen. Her eyes shine brighter than a supernova in space. Her voice was like that of a goddess. And her smile warmed my very heart. " he stated.

Aurora nodded, barely refraining to fly away at that moment. Why is he telling her this? Can't he see that it's hurting her? Ryker continued.

" She was angelic, always taking graceful steps wherever she went. I find myself unable to sleep if she's not nearby. Her very voice calms me in my times of uncertainty. Her personality was perfect, somewhat serious and calm and even humorous at times. But what caught my eyes the most, " he squeezed her shoulder, giving her a stare that she couldn't read. " was that she was always willing to comfort others and seems to never give up. "

Ryker took Aurora's chin and cupped it, giving her a smile that made her heart perform a backflip.

" The things I do for her, the things I give her, the reason why I would do anything to keep her alive and happy, is because I love her with all my heart. I love her and she never ceases to amaze me. Do you know who she is? "

Aurora sadly shook her head, silently cursing whoever had captured Ryker's heart.

Ryker's eyes twitched in amusement, greatly annoying Aurora.

" I don't think wishing to kill yourself would do you any good Aurora. " he said with a slight chuckle.

Aurora's temper flared and she was about to tell him off until she finally noticed it.

 _Cursing myself?_ she thought.

She looked at Ryker who had a large smile on his face.

" Do you know her name now? " he asked in amusement.

Aurora's mouth gaped in shock, then, more tears came as he hugged her.

" Her name is Aurora North, my queen, my everything. And I love her, I'll never abandon her again. She's the light in my darkness " he finished.

He suddenly felt two wings wrap around him, tightening his embrace as Aurora cried even harder.

 _I love you too! I love you and no one else! Please stay with me forever, Ryker!_ she mentally cried as she looked at Ryker, who had a concerned look.

"Are you sure you want to be with me? I'll attract trouble and I'm not a legendary or even a pokemon. " he asked.

Aurora gave him an angry look that he noticed immediately. He put up his hands in defense and was about to say something else but was only cut off by Aurora's lips connected with his.

Ryker was surprised but relaxed and wrapped his arms around Aurora again, enjoying the kiss. Aurora and Ryker stayed like that for a long while, then finally broke away to catch their breath. Aurora looked at Ryker who suddenly smiled.

"Best moment of my life. "

Aurora gave him a warm smile as he embraced her again. She leaned her head against his chest and inhaled.

 _Still smell like wildfire smoke._ She thought with a smile.

They stayed together like that for another hour or so, enjoying the moment they were having.

 **Hall of Origins**

 _My, so you're alive._ Arceus said with a smile.

Ryker gave her a small smile which made her confused.

 _Does he normally smile?_ she thought.

To Ryker's left, Aurora was leaning against him, letting out a sigh of happiness as Ryker gently rubbed her crest. Arceus took note of this with a smile but said nothing of it. Ryker suddenly became serious and approached her while explaining the situation.

"Lady Arceus, The Seal has been broken. The Traitor was released and he summoned the rest of the Knights, save for myself, and disappeared. What should we do? "

Arceus's expression suddenly became grim and she gestured towards a hallway.

 _Come with me and we shall talk._

They followed her down a corridor and Aurora swore that this area was never there before. The corridor had pathways, each leading to a room that had the statues of Knights depending on their type. However, when they came across The Hall of Darkness and Flames, Ryker secretly motioned Arceus to move along, preventing Aurora from seeing what lies beyond. Aurora, however, wasn't focused on that and didn't notice.

Arceus led them inside the Hall of the Undead, stopping in front of a smashed statue at the center of the room. Arceus began her explanation.

 _The Traitor, also known as Darugas, is a powerful Gengar, a Knight of the Undead. He always wanted, or should I say, wants, power. He never likes the humans and thought they should be used for manual labor, building empires and temples dedicated to pokemon. But first, before continuing on, let me explain to you Aurora, what exactly are the Knights of Arceus are._

 _The Knights are a powerful group, never to be trifled with. Some Knights were pokemon while others were human. The ones that were human were the only one that Darugas tolerated by the way. Anyway, there are many Knights with different types._

 _There's the Knight of Plain (normal) who's the weakest but had the most variety of attacks, the Knight of Waves (water), the Knight of Minerals (steel), the Knight of Terra (ground), The Knight of Photosynthesis (grass), The Knight of Storms (flying), The Knight of Bolts (electricity) who is traveling with the chosen one, The Knight of Fists (fighting), the Knight of Mind (pyschic), the Knight of Drakes (dragon), the Knight of Light, the Knight of Permafrost (ice), the Knight of Venom (poison), the Knight of Insects (bug), the Knight of the Undead (ghosts) , the Knight of Clay (rock), and finally, the only dual type, the Knight of Darkness and Flames (dark and fire). The last Knight I have mentioned is the only one that doesn't change species. As you know, Alpha is the last Knight of Darkness and Flames, there is never going to be more since his family line was sadly indirectly exterminated by Darugas, who saw them as a threat._

Aurora looked at Ryker with a questioning expression, wondering if she had heard Arceus right, but Ryker didn't notice it since he was in one of his deep thought episodes again. But, he was listening intently.

 _Darugas,_ Arceus continued, _wanted to be the only one with power in the world so he betrayed and kill the rest of the Knights. He went on a rampage afterwards, stealing the souls of every living thing that was unfortunate enough to to be in his path. Luckily, my ancestor sealed him within the Ruins of Alph, which by the way, has the strongest magical influence in the region. After he was sealed, the Knight of Darkness and Flames species line, died out. Fortunately, Ryker survived the mass genocide._ Arceus finished.

She sighed and looked at Ryker with a questioning look. He noticed this and answered her unasked question.

"When I "died" that day, I manipulated the portal and ended up in the Ruins of Alph. I also blocked off my mind from everyone to stay hidden. Since then, as I had been after completing your quests, I have been guarding the seal and honing my skills. " he stated.

Arceus was surprised nonetheless and thought to herself.

 _Amazing, even if he is the last of THEM, no one has ever evaded my radar before. Not even the other Knights could do that._

She looked at Ryker who was looking at Aurora as she studied the statues. Arceus smiled.

 _Just to protect her._

 **Later**

Aurora and Ryker were walking to a port to find a boat (Ryker refused to fly there on Aurora who offered for him to ride her. He knew that she only wanted to help but he told her it will be awkward, leaving Aurora confused) to New Island where the The Temple of Plain resided. As they got closer to the dock, Aurora began to talk.

 _So, recap: Go to each temple of the Knights, defeat the undead Knights, go after Darugas, beat him, and return to Kanto?_

"That seems to be it. " Ryker replied. "Wait, " he continued, "how are we going to get you on the boat without attracting attention? "

 _Well, you can capture me with a pokeball and I can use the necklace to stay invisible. The pokeball will prevent others to catch me if they find out I'm here._ she replied.

Ryker looked at her with worry.

" Are you ok with that? "

Aurora nodded, giving him a reassuring smile. Ryker nodded and opened a portal, leading Aurora in.

" I need to get a trainer license first. " he explained.

They were now at the Poke Academy, a institution where one can be become a trainer by simply taking a very difficult test. Ryker walked inside and Aurora followed, using the necklace to become invisible. They walked down a hallway and made a couple of turns until they came across a scientist who directed Ryker to a door that was a testing room for wannabe trainers. They stepped in and inside were many trainers seated at different desks. Ryker took an empty seat with a blank test sheet on it as Aurora sat next to him, careful not to make any sounds.

"And begin! 25 minutes! " the instructor exclaimed.

Ryker looked at test sheet and looked at the first question as Aurora looked at it as well.

 _1\. What is the maximum capacity of pokemon a trainer can take with him/her?_

 _The trainer can carry up to six pokemon. Any more will be transfered to the PC system which can hold up to (14x40) 560 pokemon._

 _2\. When you are trying to catch a pokemon, what should you do?_

 _You should weaken the wild pokemon with attacks of your own that deals damage or give it a status ailment such as Sleep or Paralyze. Or, you can knock out the wild pokemon, risking its life in the process._

 _3\. What is a pokedex and give its functions._

 _The pokedex is a device given to trainers that records data of an encountered pokemon. You can also search up the habitat, size, information, cry, and images (abnormal/normal colored pokemon and image of pokemon whose looks are different depending on the sex for example: A male Pikachu has a rectangular tipped tail while the female has a heart-tipped tail.) of selected pokemon._

 _4\. What could happen if you have high level pokemon with only a few badges?_

 _The pokemon could start to disrespect you which can be solved by gaining more badges or proving your worth to them._

 _5\. Name the Bite Pokemon and its evolution as well as its type._

 _Poochyena, wolf pup pokemon which evolves to Mightyena, a full grown wolf pokemon. Both of which are dark-type._

There were many other questions on the test, some of which Aurora didn't understand (there was some Ryker had trouble with (4) but Aurora helped him out). Eventually, Ryker finished and turned his paper in when a bell rung.

They waited outside in the lobby for about 10 minutes. Suddenly, a screen lit up and Ryker walked towards it, looking for his number.

 _# 055 : 62 out of 62_

He smiled and told Aurora of his score.

 _Well you're really smart._ she remarked.

 _Only because you helped me._ he replied, not wanting anyone to hear their conversation.

 _Yeah, with four questions out of 62._ she added.

 _Four really difficult questions. Probably the most difficult on the test._ he retorted.

" Number 55 please report to room three! " an intercom announced.

Ryker and Aurora walked down the hallway and found a door with a plaque with a three on it. They walked in and found a camera and a scientist inside.

" Ah, so you're the one who passed with a prefect score. Welcome! I am Professor Oak and I'm usually in Pallet Town but I'm here to give a rare chance to wannabe trainers. You should consider yourself lucky since only one person is allowed to become a trainer here. " the professor said as he extended his hands.

Ryker shook it and replied to him.

" It's a pleasure to meet you Prof. Oak, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to become a trainer. " he said with a straight face.

Prof. Oak smiled and gestured towards the camera of which Ryker walked in front of.

" Say cheese! " the professor exclaimed.

Ryker gave the smallest of smiles as the camera snapped. An image of him uploaded into a nearby computer. Prof. Oak went over to it and started to input data.

" Name? " he asked.

" Alpha Fang. " Ryker told him.

Oak nodded and started to type.

" Silver hair, most likely natural since he doesn't look like the type to cosplay. Hmm, white eyes? That's a first. 6 ft. 3 in. tall. Nationality? "

Ryker flinched as Oak asked him.

" Zenithean. " he replied.

Oak gasped and rushed over to Ryker.

" You mean from the land of Moonfyre? The land no one has been able to find? Whose people of one of the cities are supposed to be entirely wiped out? " he asked.

Ryker only nodded, clearly not wanting to talk about him. Aurora gave him a questioning look but didn't say anything.

Oak recomposed himself and typed in the data.

" Hometown? "

" Hollow. " Ryker replied with a low voice.

Oak finished typing in the rest if the data and pointed to a table that had multiple pokedexes on it. Ryker picked up a black one with silver border and handed it to Oak who transferred all the data from the computer to the pokedex.

"Well, that's it. I'm sorry about your homeland by the way. " Oak said apologetically.

Ryker nodded and grabbed his pokedex. He waved farewell to the professor and walked out of the room.

Later, Ryker and Aurora went to the docks and showed a guard the pokedex. They were allowed in and Ryker went to a booth where he had to fill out a bunch of forms.

"This will take a while. " he said.

Aurora nudged him and flew up to the sky with her invisibility still active.

 _I'll be back!_ And with that, she left to the Ancient Library.

The Ancient Library contained all information there was in the world but can only be accessed by legendaries. Aurora found a book that had the title _Moonfyre_ and read through it. Apparently, Moonfyre was a place where only the natives can locate it and lived. There was also a country (Zenith) that was completely wiped out by Darugas. Aurora felt sorry for Ryker but read on.

 _The country of Zenith had many inhabitants, Zenitheans, who kept to themselves. There was a family, however, that was targeting by the people. The family were known as the Fang, who were hated because of their origin. The Fang were-_

The rest of the passage was smeared, words lost and unreadable. Aurora sighed and placed the book back onto its shelf. She then thought about the information she required and flew back to Ryker, who asked what had she been doing. She response by saying that she was only taking a bath.

The two walked into their cabin and Aurora finally dispelled her invisibility. She sighed and hopped onto a bed where she quickly got comfortable in. Ryker set his things down and grabbed a Master Ball (given by Oak and also a few pokeballs). He walked over to Aurora and presented it to her with a smile. Aurora smiled as well and tapped the button on the ball, getting sucked in as she did so. Ryker let her back out onto the bed and put the ball back into his pack which also contains a map, compass, some potions, and vitamins.

Ryker walked to his pack and grabbed a shirt and shorts then walked to the bathroom. He closed the door and the sound of water hitting the tub can be heard. Aurora thought about their upcoming journey and about Ryker the whole time. She thought about the dangers but also thought about her new lover. She imagined him walking out of the shower without his shirt and quickly blushed. After about fifteen or so minutes, Ryker walked out of the bathroom...shirtless.

Aurora looked at his body, the eight pack was still there but that was not all. Like his arms, his whole upper body had defined muscles. His chest was broad and his legs, which could be seen since he was wearing shorts, were muscular as well. Aurora blushed but was silently disappointed when he put his shirt on. Ryker, who was oblivious to what she had just experienced, walked over to the far wall and prepared to lie down on the floor.

 _Oh no you don't, there is enough room on the bed for both of us. And don't even think about disagreeing because if so, I'll freeze you to the bed if I have to._ Aurora said with a scary-sweet voice.

Ryker sighed in defeat and went over to the bed. He laid down on the left side and immediately, Aurora shifted her body so that her wings were enveloping him with her head on his chest.

 _Goodnight, love._ Aurora said with a smile as she closed her eyes.

Ryker used the shadows in the room and locked the door as well as turning off the light. He smiled, looked down, and kissed Aurora (who giggled and squirmed on the spot) on the forehead below her circlet.

"Goodnight, my Goddess of Light, and Water, and Sarcasm, and Cold Heart. " he jokingly said as Aurora playfully bit him on his ear (which was along with his nose) very sensitive. He chuckled because of her nibbles and hugged her, closing his eyes and slowly dozing off to sleep with her.

 **Characters:**

 **Ryker Fang, (m), human?**

 **Aurora North, (f), Islingr Suicune**

 **Sora, (m), human**

 **Jeanne, (f), Arceus**

 **Xemnas, (m), Nobody**

 **Darugas, (m), Knight of Undead, Gengar**

 **Neo, (m), Deoxys**

 **Prof. Oak, (m), pokemon professor**

 **New OC next chapter! Please review and keep on reading Light In My Darkness!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Alright so last time in Light In My Darkness, Aurora and Ryker faces off with Xemnas in Hallow Bastion. However, Ryker "died" in the battle and the battle which left Aurora devastated. Aurora and the others finish their journey without Ryker and Aurora returned to her own dimension. Five years pass since Ryker had "died" and Aurora decided to check out the Ruins of Alph. She accidentally breaks a seal of a great evil by the name of Darugas who summons the undead Knights to do his bidding. Darugas attacks Aurora only for her to be saved by Ryker, the last Knight of Shadows and Flames. Darugas flees and Ryker explains to Aurora why he had been hiding the whole time. After they confessed their love for each each other, they met with Jeanne and embarked on a mission. The last we heard of them was on a boat to New Island to find the Temple of Plain.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon.**

 **Chapter 6: The Temple of Plain and Moldar.**

 _Why are we taking the boat instead of just flying over there again?_ Aurora asked with annoyance.

They were resting in the cabin room, just about done with their hearty breakfast. Ryker looked at her.

"It's illegal to do so without a pass and the only way to get a pass is to get one from the captain of this boat. Plus, we need to show our pass to security who, by the way, have cameras all over the entrance to the island. I rather not get into trouble with the authorities. "

Aurora slowly nodded in understanding and walked over to him, laying down on his lap and resting her head on his chest. The bed creaked under the combined weight of the two.

 _How much longer will it take to reach New Island, love?_ she asked.

Ryker checked his watch and gave her his answer.

"About another twenty minutes or so. "

Aurora nodded and snuggled against Ryker who leaned back against the wall with a smile.

" So this is New Island, I heard Lord Mewtwo was born here. " Ryker remarked.

Aurora was beside him, nodding her head to his previous statement.

 _Yes, a group of scientists here cloned him from Lady Mew's DNA. Did you know that they are mates now?_ she added.

" No I did not but I sort of figured that would happen. Come on, I feel the power from the temple in that direction. " he said as he pointed North.

Aurora nodded and followed him through the thick forest. They walked for quite a bit, running into a few Patrat, Venepede, and even a few Mightyena who backed away from Ryker for some reason. Aurora questioned him about it and he answered that it may be natural intimidation which, judging his appearance, could be very true.

"That's right, Saphira! Jeez, whether it be college level questions or Einstein's theory you're really smart. But then again, you are a legendary after all. " a voice sounded, a few yards ahead of Ryker and Aurora.

They walked passed some bushes to find a man standing next to a Reshiram, a smile plastered on his face. The man quickly noticed them and offered his hand.

" Ah, hello there! It seems you have a legendary for a partner as well! The name's Ragna and this is my partner Saphira. "

Ryker walked up to Ragna and shook his hand. For some reason, Ryker felt like they shouldn't worry about this man.

" Pleasure to meet you two. I go by Alpha and my partner here goes by Aurora. "

 _It's nice to see you again Saphira. How long has it been?_ Aurora added.

Saphira looked at Aurora, giving a warm smile before answering.

 _Aurora! It's been about four years since I had last seen you! It's nice to see you again!_ The Reshiram replied with happiness.

The two legendaries started a conversation that left out Ryker and Ragna. Said men sat down on a hill by a tree and started a conversation themselves.

"So, how did you meet Aurora? " Ragna asked.

" I met her about six years ago at Mnt. Moon in Kanto. She was being chased by three other legendaries so I had to fight them off to save her. Since then, we became really close. How about you and Saphira? "

Ragna scratched his head before replying. He had black hair and blue eyes that burned with ferocity. He was also about the same height and build as Ryker. However, his voice is slightly less deep than Ryker and he talked with an English accent that was similar to Ryker's, except that Ryker's accent isn't as heavy.

"I met Saphira in the Unova region. She was bleeding to death in a place called Dragonspiral Tower so I captured her in a Master Ball and healed her in a Pokemon Center. Afterwards, she agreed to be my partner. It was four years since then. " Ragna finished.

Over the next hour, the group relaxed, retelling their old adventures and mishaps. Apparently, Ragna was the Knight of Drakes, and was heading towards the temple like the other two were.

" How long have you been a Knight, Ragna? " Ryker asked.

" About a decade, since I was 15. At first, I refused the offer from Lady Arceus, but," he looked at Saphira as he talked, "she convinced me to join. You?"

Ryker frowned as he was asked that question.

"I'm the last of the Knights of Shadows and Flames. The rest of us was wiped out by Darugas. "

Ragna was shocked but didn't show it.

" I'm sorry for making you bring it up. I didn't know. "

Ryker shook his head, giving Ragna a small wave of his hands.

" It's fine, I got over it a long time ago. "

Ragna raised an eyebrow, obviously confused. He leaned closer to Ryker.

" How did you get over that? It seems unlikely that someone can just get over something like that. "

Ryker gave Ragna a humorless smile, one that slightly revealed the darkness within him, one that sent shivers down Ragna's back.

" I just simply thought "get stronger" and figured that if I did that, no one would try to kill me. So far, I didn't catch the attention of anyone worth worrying about, and I'm intending to keep it that way. " Ryker replied.

Unknown to the two, Aurora and Saphira were listening intently on their conversation.

 _That man, Alpha, truly is independent, relying on no one else but himself to get by in life. I wonder how long will it last?_ Saphira inquired.

Aurora looked at the white dragon with an expression of worry on her face.

"So that's your only reason? To be strong and to survive? Is there anything else? " Ragna suddenly asked.

Ryker hesitated before answering, but when he did, it was full of confidence and conviction.

" I now do what I do to protect her. Nothing else. Even if I had all the things in the world, even if I don't need to be a Knight anymore, I do it all for her, for her sake. " Ryker answered.

Aurora felt like hugging him right there, but that would reveal their relationship to Ragna and Saphira who may be against that kind of thing.

" You remind me of myself. I fight for Saphira because I love her and I don't want anything to happen to her. I'd do anything for her. Am I right to assume you feel the same way about Aurora? " Ragna said with a smile.

This caught both Ryker and Aurora off guard, nearly causing Aurora to trip and leave her hiding spot with Saphira. Aurora collected herself and looked at Saphira.

 _Are you two together?_

Saphira chuckled and walked out from her hiding spot, careful not to reveal Aurora. She reached Ragna and hugged him to which he happily returned. Ryker and Aurora smiled at the sight, both also thought that there may be more legendaries in a relationship with a human.

"You are correct. " Ryker finally answered." I do it for Aurora and I love her. I'm glad we met Ragna, and I'm also glad you're our ally. " Ryker said with another rare smile.

Ragna broke free from his embrace with Saphira and got up.

" Likewise, Alpha. I hope we can get through this quest successfully. " he replied.

Ryker got up as well, and walked away from the area. He announced that he would be back later and was gone. Aurora left her hiding spot and walked up to Ragna and Saphira, who were currently talking about something Aurora couldn't make out. Something about "transformation"...

Ryker was in the pond, about a thirty minute walk from camp. He was currently thinking about the day that presented before him. His clothes, save for his trousers, were on a rock platform to his right. As he thought, he noticed that there was something watching him. Without opening his eyes to alert the unknown being, he picked up a small pebble from the bottom of the pool. He concentrated on the mind of the being that was watching. It was a Sawsbuck, a rather curious one at that.

Ryker lifted the pebble and flicked it, striking the Sawsbuck right between its eyes with so much force, the pebble cracked down the middle and split. The Sawsbuck fell to his side, twitching and slowly dying.

 _There's dinner._ Ryker thought with a smile.

Aurora was laying next to a pit that was dug up so they could start a fire. It was already afternoon and Ragna wanted to prepare for night. Saphira was sleeping in a curled ball a few feet away. Ragna was stretching his limbs, tired and yawning as he did so.

Aurora's head snapped up as she heard the breaking of twigs nearby. She looked in the direction of the noise and found Ryker walking towards them with a Sawsbuck on his shoulder. Ragna stopped what he was doing and looked at the deer, mouth wide and slightly drooling as his stomach growled with such intensity.

"How on earth did you catch that? " he asked.

Ryker set the Sawsbuck down and pulled out a hunting knife from his pack.

" Pebble. " he answered.

Ragna looked at Aurora incredulously who shrugged her shoulders, not entirely sure if Ryker was serious. Then again, he almost never jokes when it came to others...

Ryker proceeded to gut and skin the deer with ease. The look on his face didn't show any signs of disgust or uncomfortability. He looked perfectly calm. Saphira woke up and noticed what was happened. She then got up and flew away from the campsite.

 _Where are you going, Saphira?_ Aurora asked.

 _That deer may satisfy the three of you, but I'm a dragon and I need to eat a full deer, not a limb or two._ Saphira replied.

Ryker put a limb over the pit (which he lit while gutting the Sawsbuck) and looked at Aurora and Ragna.

"How would you like your meat? "

" Medium rare please. " Ragna replied.

 _Well done please._ Aurora added. Ryker nodded and proceeded to cut out his portion of the meal. By the time he prepared Aurora's and Ragna's meals, Saphira came back, a fresh Stantler in her maw.

Ryker grabbed the finished meat and handed them to Aurora and Ragna, who gratefully accepted them. Saphira was already devouring her food when suddenly Ragna asked a question.

"Uh, you eat it raw? "

 _Of course I do. I'm a dragon and-_ Saphira stopped as she looked at who Ragna was referring to.

Ryker was eating a portion of the meat that was completely raw.

 _Don't worry about it. Alpha eats his meat raw all the time. I had the same reaction as well but over time, I got used to it._ Aurora remarked as she flicked Ryker's leg with one of her tails.

"Bones too? " Ragna added.

He swore he saw Ryker's ear twitched but thought nothing of it. Aurora and Saphira looked at Ryker who immediately regretted the action.

 _I probably should mention that I can digest bones as well. That's why I don't pick them out the meat so I thought at least Aurora would have noticed by now._

Aurora and the others looked at him with surprise. Aurora quickly recovered however and calmed down.

 _That's new._

The sun was currently being blocked out by the clouds. Ragna sighed as he followed the Ryker who had the map. He was bored, and didn't know what to do to pass the time. Suddenly, an idea formed in his head.

"Hey Alpha, how about a duel between us two? I want to see how good you are with a sword. "

Ryker stopped walking, unintentionally causing Aurora to bump into him. He turned around and looked at Ragna?

" A duel between us Knights? I can't pass that opportunity. "

Ragna smiled as Ryker set down his stuff and led him to a nearby clearing. Ragna went to one side and Ryker went to the other. Aurora and Saphira sat nearby, wondering what the outcome of the battle will be.

" Ready!? " Ragna called out from across the field.

Ryker nodded and Ragna pulled out his weapon from its sheath on his back. Aurora's eyes widened at the sight. It was a large two handed sword. It's hilt was wrapped in leather and the cross guard was made of ebony. It had a carving of a dragon on the surface with its mouth wide open. The eyes were sapphires and there were two wings stretching out and forming almost a full circle that had a gap towards the top (think of the Ultima in KH). The blade itself was was made of what seems to be white fused scales, sharp enough to cleave through even the hardest of solids. The reach was approximately three feet long and was about five inches thick. Ragna held the great sword with ease and brandished it a bit in the sun. As he did, blue flames erupted around the sword, which flared in intensity in unison to Ragna's breathing. He then finished off by enchanting and blunted his sword, which can still give nasty bruises and no doubt broken bones. He waited for Ryker to draw his weapon as shining armor materialized onto his body. Ryker noticed that it was made of a white metal, but decided to maybe ask about it later. Ragna's armor resembled that of a large plate mail. He had no helmet but, he had a black cape that hung from his back. He had two blue scarves that hung from his neck down his shoulders and a large sapphire with the carving of a flame-enveloped tooth on the chest piece of his armor.

"If you're wondering, I had the sword forged by Lord Heatran, a gift for rescuing him from Lady Lugia. She was pissed since he "accidentally" touched her, uh, rump. "

Ryker didn't say anything to that but Aurora and Sapphire were amused and laughed uncontrollably. When they settled down, they focused on Ryker who was stretching his arm. When he finished, they heard him take in a deep breath and exhale.

As he exhaled, his black armor materialized onto his back. Ragna looked unnerved for a bit. Ryker's armor seemed to intensify the shadows around them casted by the sun. Also, his armor seemed to _glow_ darkness.

 _Somewhat like his sword._ Aurora thought.

As soon as she finished the thought, Ryker held out his left hand and his sword materialized into it, enveloped by a shroud of darkness and white flames. Ryker took the sword and lowered it to his side, blunting it with a spell. When his sword became visible, Ryker looked at Ragna and waited for his move.

Ragna furrowed his brow and circled around, cautious of Ryker who didn't move from his spot. Suddenly, Ragna zoomed forth at Ryker with amazing speed, swinging his large sword as he did so. He connected and a large cloud of dust and debris rose from the ground. The resulting shockwave made its way to Aurora and Sapphire and nearly shifted them in their places.

 _Such power!_ Saphira told Aurora who nodded her head in agreement.

They focused on the dust cloud, which settled slowly. When it was cleared, the two gasped. Ryker was in the same position, clearly unfazed by the attack. His sword was blocking Ragna's, which sent sparks flying. Ragna growled and leaped back, sending a blue dragon - shaped fire ball towards Ryker who stood unmoving. The fireball made contact with Ryker's face much to all of their horror. They expected him to at least dodge it or deflect it but he did nothing. But, the flames dispersed and Ryker took a step forward, unhurt.

"Good attack, but I'm immune to it. Ready yourself Ragna. " Ryker said in a calm voice.

He faded away, leaving no trace of his existence. Ragna instinctively turned around to find nothing there.

 _Above you!_ Saphira shouted.

Ragna looked up and widened his eyes as Ryker came down with his sword positioned to strike. At the last second, Ragna blocked and countered by performing and kick to Ryker's side. Ryker noticed this and brought up his right hand, grabbed Ragna's foot, swung the foot, and used the momentum to land on his feet. His opponent, however, fell from losing balance but quickly jumped up back onto his feet. He charged at Ryker with a barrage of attacks, surprisingly quick regardless of the greatsword he used. At one point, Ryker grabbed Ragna's wrist while narrowly dodging a blow and swung his sword. The sword connected with Ragna's arm which caused Ragna to yell out in pain. Ryker let go of Ragna and got in a defensive stance. Ragna clenched his teeth and healed his arm, which had a large bruise the size of the average shoe.

 _That sword cleaved into my armor like it was nothing._ Ragna thought.

Infuriated, he charged at Ryker and blasted a fireball at Ryker's face. Ryker didn't bother to move but was suspicious.

 _Wait, this is a distraction._ he thought.

As soon as he thought that, he felt Ragna's sword connected with his left hand, his sword hand. The bones underneath his skin instantly shattered. Ryker, however kept a straight face and kicked Ragna back, clutching his hand as he did so.

 _Alpha!_ Aurora thought.

Ryker gave her a reassuring look and she immediately felt that he has probably experience worse pain than this.

"Aren't you at least going to heal that?" Ragna asked as he picked himself up from the ground. _I shatter his hand and he retaliated by kicking me? At least scream in pain or something. Man, that kick hurts more than Saphira's_ _ **Extrasensory.**_ he also thought.

Saphira, meanwhile, heard his stray thought which caused her twitch. Ragna suddenly felt a pair of eyes watching him and saw Saphira smiling mischievously.

"She's going to get me for that. " he mumbled.

He focused on Ryker who picked up his sword which dropped to the ground when his left hand broke. All three of them saw this and all had questioning looks. Ryker noticed this and announced his answer to their questions.

" I'm not going to heal my hand, I'll save the energy for later. My hand will mend eventually. "

He then charged at Ragna who was caught off guard. Ryker swung his sword and struck Ragna on his chest, sending him crashing into the surrounding trees. Saphira and Aurora were shocked and saw Ragna get back up with much difficulty. He was panting heavily as he removed a tree trunk from his body. He looked at Ryker who was walking closer to him.

 _Ambidextrous. Both of his hands are dominant._ Aurora announced, slightly surprised.

Saphira told Ragna who paled immediately. _That's really rare._

He bared his teeth and threw his sword at Ryker who sidestepped out of the way. Ragna took this chance and ran from the spot, summoning his sword back into his hand. He focused his power and created ten copies of himself and smirked. All of his copies talked simultaneously.

"No one has ever figured out who the real me is. Good luck. "

He was immediately answered by Ryker who struck him in the chest and throwing him over his back. Ragna grimaced as he landed on his back.

" But how? "

Ryker turned to give Ragna a burning gaze.

"You can't fool me with illusions." he said as Ragna's copies dissipated. "But I have to congratulate you. You executed the maneuver perfectly and gave your clones not only the same exact appearance and voice, but also gave them a false mind, making them harder to detect." he finished. Ryker stepped back from his spot. "Do you still want to continue?" Ragna got up and picked up his sword, raising it at Ryker. Ryker gave an amused look. "Well in that case, let me show you the real way to cast illusions."

Ryker's aura seem to intensify and it covered the whole area around him, blocking everyone's vision. When it cleared, everyone gasped. There was a total of 15 Rykers on the field, all of which were moving on their own accord.

 _Do not worry, only one of them can cause you real damage._ Saphira told Ragna.

Aurora frowned, trying to spot the real Ryker. Suddenly, she felt a hand rubbing her a paw. She would have screamed out in surprise if not for the voice that resounded in her head.

 _It's me. I'm invisible right now. What they don't know is that not only the clones are completely replicas, but they are concrete and like me, their minds cannot be sensed. I'll go back down there now._ Ryker explained.

Aurora relaxed and saw a shadow move from hers. It traveled down to the battlefield, unnoticed by Ragna and Saphira, and rose from the ground, revealing the real Ryker.

The real Ryker stepped forth, showing himself to Ragna and Saphira and muttered one thing from under his metal mask.

"Burning Shadow Barrage. "

They saw Ryker's face shift in cruel amusement (remember, they can only see the top half of his face, from the bridge of his nose up) as he barely twitched his hand. At that moment, his clones, including himself, were shrouded with a dark and flaming aura, which glowed darkly with white, and charged at Ragna with unbelievable speed. They each took their swords and and planted them in locked positions in the ground to the point where Ragna couldn't move. The clones also punched Ragna in different areas of his body. At that moment, unknown to to the other three, the clones merged back into Ryker who was moving so fast, they were actually only seeing his afterimages, making it look like his clones were still there. Ryker, unlike his earlier clones, still had his sword and gave Ragna a flurry of blows from all sides that totaled to the amount of 210 strikes in five seconds. Ryker then appeared in the air, giving the group one look at the real him at last, and did a downwards strike to Ragna's back (poor Ragna), making a crater the size of a large plane to form. Ryker stood at the edge of the crater, nothing so much as a bead of sweat on him.

"How are you feeling? " Ryker asked as he finished healing Ragna.

"A lot better actually. Your healing skills are impressive. Although, I rather not getting beat the hell out of again." Ragna replied with a smile. He got up and tested his body, surprised to find that nothing hurt. He then turned to Ryker with a worried expression. "How's the hand?"

Ryker raised his eyebrow and looked at his hand, clearly showing the others that he had forgotten about it. It was broken, bent, and bloodied, looking like it was beyond repair.

" Oh. " causing the others to sweat-drop and wonder how the hell did he forget that. "Well first, I have to straighten my hands and bones. Then, the rest should be a breeze." he mumbled to himself.

He literally flicked his left hand outward and his hand straightened out and his bones snapped. This caused the others to flinch greatly. Ryker, however, tended to his hand emotionlessly.

"Aren't you going to use magic?" Ragna asked.

Ryker simply lifted one finger and shook his head, making the others really confused. At first, they thought they heard twigs snap so all but Ryker turned around, trying to find someone hidden. Seeing no one, they turned back to Ryker who was pointing at his head. They looked and saw something that will forever amaze them.

The bones in Ryker's hand were shifting back in place. It had stopped bleeding and his fingers bent back into the right position. His wrist righted itself, pivoting a full 180 degrees before stopping. After a few bones snapping and a few disgusted sounds from Saphira, Ryker's left hand finally healed. From the time of the battle to the moment they were in now, it took about 45 minutes for his hand to heal.

"We need to get moving to the Temple." Ryker announced as he reverted back to his normal clothing and picked up his pack, leaving the others no chance to ask questions.

About another hour walk led them to a large set of double doors in the side of a stone wall.

"This is it." Ragna announced as Ryker opened the doors with such unnatural ease.

They all walked in and immediately, normal-typed pokémon of all kinds attack. Aurora quickly announced that they each have a dark corrupted aura so its imperative that they are not to kill the pokémon. Ryker punched a Smeargle and sent it flying towards a Snorlax, who was napping the whole entire battle. The Smeargle ricochet from the Snorlax's stomach and rocketed into a Lickitung. The two disappeared in a dark cloud of smoke, shocking Aurora.

 _They're not real?_ she asked over the din.

 _At least we don't have to hold back anymore._ Ryker stated.

 _You hold back?_ Ragna asked, earning a small chuckle from the other two.

 _..._ Ryker ignored the remark.

Saphira spotted a hallway and advised the others to run. They complied and followed Saphira into the hallway. Suddenly, Ryker turned around to face the dark pokémon. The others told him to run but he stood his ground. Suddenly, Ryker opened his mouth and a stream of dark-white fire incinerated the dark pokémon. Ryker turned around and ran to them.

 _Nice._ Saphira commented.

Eventually, they felt that they were safe and started walking. Aurora and Ryker led the way and Ragna and Saphira held up the rear. Suddenly, Ryker held up his hand, motioning the group to stop. He pointed to the floor and they all had to squint to see what he was pointing at. It was a transparent wire that was strung across the floor.

"Step over it. " Ryker announced.

They each carefully stepped out over it. When it came to Ragna's turn, he unknowingly stepped on a rock completely hidden in the shadows and slipped. As he fell, he held out his hand and landed in a push-up position. The others let out a breath of relief and Ragna gave a mareepish smile. He began to get up but his sword slid from its place on his back and snapped the wire underneath him. The group looked at Ragna with annoyed expression and he flushed, muttering something under his breath.

"Son of a fucking b-"

 _Language, dear._ Saphira interrupted lightly bonked him on the head as a click can be heard throughout the hallway.

"I need to wash this soot off. " Ragna remarked annoyed.

His clothes was covered in soot and ash and his face was the only thing that was left unblemished. The others were just fine with their immunity and high resistance (Saphira's and Aurora's case including Ragna) to fire. Saphira turned around and flapped her wing, effectively blowing off the ash and soot off of Ragna who smiled in thanks.

"Damn explosions. " he muttered under his breath.

Ryker turned a corner, holding a small orb of fire to light the way for the others. Aurora was behind him, deep in thought. She thought about the battle earlier with the two Knights, Ryker's hand, and how Ryker was able to see the wire which was _TRANSPARENT,_ in the dark so easily. She didn't see him mutter an incantation of magic or whatsoever the whole time.

 _I hope he opens up soon. I knows he trusts me with his life and I him, but, when will he tell me his personal issues?_

Ryker caught this stray thought and inwardly flinched.

They reached a circular chamber and all pathways were cut off. A statue in the center of the room and opened its mouth.

 _What do you give a box to make it lighter?_

"Um, air? " Ragna answered." To the point it floats? "

That moment, large spikes erected from the ceiling and the ceiling started to slowly to lower itself.

 _I hate dungeons._ he thought.

 _Wrong answer, hurry, your time is running out._ the statue stated.

They all thought for some answers but their answers seemed to not make sense or will make that box _bigger._ Ryker walked up to the statue and cleared his throat.

"Would you give the said box holes, perhaps? "

The statue's eyes flashed and the spikes above retracted back into the ceiling.

 _Correct._ the statue stated.

The walls lowered and only one pathway can be seen. Ryker stepped to the side and gestured towards the hallway in amusement, though it was hard to tell since he didn't show it on his face.

"Would anyone like to go first? "

Aurora chuckled and walked while Ragna sighed, defeated and followed her in. Saphira followed after him, chuckling along the way. Ryker held up the rear.

" Next time I go into a dungeon, I'll make sure I bring you with me, Alpha. " Ragna muttered, causing Saphira and Aurora to laugh and Ryker to shake his head.

They walked for some while, stepping over a few trip wires along the way. At one point, Saphira stepped on a trap tile and a boulder rolled down towards them. It was quickly stopped however by Ragna who simply punched it causing it to shatter.

 _Oops._ Saphira had said.

Another incident happened not too long later when Aurora accidentally kicked a rock which rolled down the pathway, hit an ancient vase causing a loud noise which echoed down the hallway, vibrated the ceiling, caused some debris to fall, hit a switch, and summoned a volley of arrows which Aurora blew away with her wings. She stepped back and smiled mareepishly.

 _I think Alpha should lead the way, he seems to have less difficulty with dungeons than we do._

Ragna and Saphira quickly nodded their heads and pushed Ryker to the front to lead the way. Ryker sighed disappointedly, obviously secretly having fun seeing the others trying to avoid setting off traps. He then walked off down the hallway, the others following close behind.

Well, lo' and behold, they didn't set off anymore traps when Ryker led the way. They had walked for at least another half hour without an incident. Finally, Ryker stopped, pointing ahead of them. They looked at saw a man clad in armor. His skin was a light shade of purple and he had a whip clipped to his armor on his side. He was wearing golden armor and his face was covered by a golden helmet with a purple plume sprouting from the top. To top it all off, he was sitting in a large regal throne with golden drapes hanging from the ceiling.

 _"Tell me, it's true that "today" follows "yesterday" in the world. But, in what area in this world does "yesterday" follows "today", hm? "_ The Knight of Plain questioned.

" You and riddles. " Ragna mumbled.

The Knight on the thrown grinned with malicious intent and stood up. He opened up his eyes as he did so which were pure red (remember, he is a possessed undead knight) with purple pupils. He drew his long, black whip and snapped it, causing a shroud of mist to cover his body. A few moments later, the mist dissipated and what appeared underneath shocked the group.

It was Lady Arceus.

 _Stand down my Knights. You two as well, Lady Saphira and Lady Aurora._

Confused, the group lowered their weapons and relaxed.

Ryker's ear twitched.

 _How do you like my new trick? Luckily, I came here to deal with Moldar myself since he was a normal type and was at even grounds with me. I defeated and freed him and in thanks, he gave me the ability to_ _ **Transform**_ _and it looks like you were all fooled. Pretty good for my first time if I do say so myself._ she added. Arceus floated forward and halted in front of Ragna, earning a look of curiosity from the lot. _I hereby relinquish you of your Knight status. Why? You, unlike Alpha, have been doing nothing to guard the seal. Begone._

Ragna paled and the group save for Ryker gasped. Ragna then nodded, quietly accepting his judgment and started to walk out of the palace. He was quickly followed by Saphira who gave Arceus a glare. As soon as their backs were turned, Arceus fired a hyper beam at the two, knocking them out in a single blast.

 _Why did you do that?! They did nothing to deserve that sort of unfair punishment!_ Aurora snapped.

 _They didn't do their jobs so I DID give them a fair punishment._ Arceus coldly replied.

Aurora ran over the two, tending to their wounds. After a few moments and sounds of disapproval from Arceus, Ragna and Saphira regained consciousness.

 _Don't move or talk. You need to conserve your energy and rest._ Aurora advised with worry. The wounded nodded but looked at Arceus incredulously. Arceus simply gave them a glare, silencing them from any attempt of communication.

Suddenly, Arceus was punched in the face with great force and was sent barreling into a nearby wall, demolishing it completely.

"What the hell Alpha! You just punched Lady Arceus! The Goddess of the motherfu- *smack! * ow, sorry, the world! " Ragna exclaimed, rubbing his cheek where Saphira "lightly" smacked.

 _Why Alpha? She could kill you for that!_ Aurora scolded.

"Are you kidding me? You should all know that isn't Lady Arceus." Ryker retorted.

The three were shocked but looked at "Arceus" who got up.

 _You will pay for that, Knight! Saphira! Aurora! Restrain him!_ she commanded.

Hesitantly, Saphira edged closer to Ryker who gave her a look that clearly stated "back off". Aurora remained unmoving, caught in the middle of things.

"I don't like the tone you're using "Arceus". Don't you usually say "Lady Reshiram" or "Lady Islingr Suicune" and the like? " Ryker asked.

This caught the others off guard, but "Arceus" was actually curious.

 _Is that what she is?_ "Arceus" asked in the same male voice as earlier, referring to Aurora and immediately catching their attention.

Ryker smiled, knowing that the imposter, Moldar, can't keep up the facade anymore. Moldar caught his mistake and sneered.

 _Well, it was worth a try and I was hoping that I can kill you by gaining your trust. I'm certainly not the strongest of "The Resurrected." But before we battle, at least answer the riddle. The Knight of Mind asked me that a century ago and I can't seem to figure it out. It has been bugging me even after death._

"That riddle is actually not as hard as it seems. The answer is the dictionary. "Yesterday" starts with "y" and it follows "today" which starts with "t." Ryker answered.

Moldar was actually surprised to find someone who figured it out so easily. Then, he smiled and cracked his whip.

 _"You know, I don't want to die again. I still need to serve Lord Darugas. "_ he said, reappearing behind Ryker in his true form.

Ryker quickly reacted by punching Moldar in the stomach and sending him towards the far wall.

"Aurora, stay here and tend to the their wounds! " Ryker shouted as he left the spot, leaving no trace behind.

Moldar snarled and appeared in the center of the room, using **Slam** onto the floor sending shockwaves into the floor. Ryker suddenly appeared above Moldar in his Knight form and tried to strike Moldar with a jab. Moldar disappeared before the blow landed and reappeared atop a lamp that hung precariously over the room. Ryker took the drapes that were hanging from the ceiling and wrapped it around one of the branches of the chandelier, swinging it and causing Moldar to lose balanced for a bit. At that moment, Ryker jumped towards the chandelier and rammed it with his shoulders, breaking a few candles in the process. Moldar fell from the chandelier but quickly recovered in mid-air. However, Ryker didn't give him the chance to do anything more and stabbed Moldar through the chest, the opposite side of his heart. Moldar screamed in agony and looked at Ryker with fury within his eyes.

" _You are not a normal Knight are you?! No, you are something much more. Let me let give you a bit of advice. If you cut your ties with those who are holding you back, you will no longer need to hold back. You can conquer all of the world in no time!_ Moldar stated in a hushed whisper.

The others didn't hear that last comment so Ryker let out a brief breath of relief. His eyes then flashed with malice as he kicked Moldar from his sword to the stone floor beneath them. Moldar groaned in pain, coughing up bouts of black blood and choking in it at the very same time. Ryker moved closer to Moldar, crouching low enough so that said person was the only one who could hear him. Ryker bared his teeth, his fangs intimidated the opponent below him.

"Listen here Moldar, the only reason why I am holding back is because long time ago, my kind was hunted down in hatred. People were afraid of us so they didn't want us to continue to exist in this world anymore. If I recall, we went "extinct" recently. Obviously, I am the last one of my kind and I were to reveal myself to the others, they probably would hate me, no doubt. The only reason I am telling you this is because I am about to free you and I know I can trust one of the Knights to keep a secret of their fellow Knights."

Moldar was taken aback, unsure what to do in the situation. Then, he noticed that Aurora was watching their battle from behind the barrier had put up earlier (which wasn't there before). He noticed that Ragna and Saphira were recovered from the **Hyper Beam** as well.

 _You can beat him Alpha! Beat him and release him from Darugas's dark influence._ Aurora cheered.

The others commented as well, but Moldar noticed that Aurora seemed to have the most care for Ryker. He then smiled, a plan forming within his mind. Ryker gave the others a look of thanks for their encouragement and refocused his attention on Moldar who gave a swift and devastating kick to Ryker's ribs. Ryker crashed onto the floor but righted himself quickly, clutching his chest with at least three broken ribs. Ryker then widened his eyes, the others opened their mouths in shock as well.

Moldar had **Transformed** into Aurora.

He perfectly copied her features from the blue eyes even to the smallest feather on her wings. Moldar gave Ryker a faked look of happiness and walked towards him.

 _Alpha, my dear, stop this fighting at once. Please? For me? I'll be sure to award you later._ Moldar added in a tempting tone.

Ragna, Saphira, and Aurora were significantly shocked. It's bad enough that Moldar copied _EVERY_ single detail on Aurora, but he had also copied her voice as well. Aurora looked at Ryker worriedly, wondering how will he react to this situation. All of a sudden, a massive output of darkness flooded the area. The flames from the chandelier blazed wildly with high intensity. They all looked at Ryker who had his teeth (and four canines/fangs) bared dangerously. His aura seemed to be the source of the overwhelming darkness in the area. Aurora and co. all swore that they heard him growling. Ryker took one step forward, sending dark-white flames (if anyone doesn't remember, his flames are white with a dark hue and towards the hottest point of the source of the flames are black. think of a red fireball surrounded by orange and replace that with a black fireball surrounded by white) all over the area torching the drapes and even burning the throne chair.

 _Too hot, and that is saying something coming from me, a fire-dragon type!_ Saphira exclaimed, backing away from the spreading flames.

Ragna decided to take a closer look at Ryker's aura which briefly sent out shadows darker than black, an empty void. One of the shadows got close to Ragna and he inspected it. It's movements were random as if it was actually alive. He then reached for it. As soon as he "touched" the shadow, a large cut appeared on his palm. He withdrew his hand and tended to the wound while focusing his attention back to Ryker and Moldar.

Ryker continued to walk towards Moldar who backed away in complete fear much like the others. Moldar frantically looked for any means of escape, but to no avail.

 _Alpha, you're scaring me._ Moldar said in a seemingly innocent voice.

Ryker's anger suddenly flared and he disappeared in a shroud of darkness and flame only to reappear in front of Moldar.

" _Shut your damn mouth."_ Ryker said in a deadly calm voice. The others noticed that he spoke in the Ancient Dialect.

He then grabbed Moldar by the throat and raised him up to the air several inches from the ground.

 _You're hurting me, Alpha. Stop this please. I'll do anything you want._ Moldar added with a strange seductive tone.

This seemed to not only enrage, but disgusted Ryker greatly as he punched Moldar, hard, in the face. Moldar screamed as he held up his hands in defense. But that didn't matter.

" _Don't you DARE try to copy her beauty of which you failed miserably at!"_ Ryker threw a punch to Moldar in the stomach, damaging the organs within. Ryker continued his onslaught.

" _Don't you DARE talk to me in her voice!"_ he added another punch to Moldar's face.

" _And don't you DARE LOOK AT ME WITH HER EYES EVER AGAIN!"_ he finished, taking his sword and impaling Moldar through the chest with his sword.

Ryker withdrew his sword and threw Moldar, who reverted back to his original form, back to the ground with a sickening crunch. Moldar groaned in pain but instantly changed to screaming in agony. Shadows were cutting up his body in small, painful slashes and at the same time, dark-white flames ate away hungrily at his body.

All of that painful infliction was just because Moldar's contact to the sword which, with Ryker's consent, instantly ignited and mutilated Moldar's body with flames and shadows. All that was needed was for an enemy to touch the sword…

Aurora looked at the scene before her. Even with the gruesome scene, she can't but help to feel happy on the inside.

 _The things he said about me…_ she thought blissfully.

When Moldar's screams finally came to an end, there was nothing left of him. The flames that incinerated him so much that the ash vaporized and the blood boiled and turned into steam that evaporated into the air, leaving a foul metallic smell within the chamber.

The barrier Ryker had set up dispersed and the group cautiously approached him. Aurora was the first one to speak up.

 _Alpha?_

Ryker turned around and when he saw Aurora, he relaxed a bit. His aura died down and the shadows and flames that were freely wandering dissipated into nothing. Ryker got out of his Knight form and recalled his sword which disappeared in his hands. Ryker walked up to the others and eyed them for wounds.

"Everyone alright?" he asked, changing from Ancient Dialect to English.

They nodded their heads with smiles upon their faces. Ryker let out a sigh of relief and looked at the ceiling.

"I hope Moldar's spirit is happily resting now without Darugas's influence."

 _I'm sure it is._ Saphira remarked, the other two nodding their heads in agreement.

Ryker gave them a small, rare smile and proceeded to walk towards the exit, the group following close behind in fear of setting off more traps.

"This was a long day!" Ragna announced, laying down on Saphira's side who happily nuzzled him.

 _You said it._ Aurora replied from opposite side of the campfire.

It was now night and they had set up camp as soon as they exited the temple. Ryker hunted two deer and now they happily feasted upon it. Saphira hunted and ate her own deer of course. Later, Ragna and Saphira fell asleep, content with their positions and with the day's events. Ryker was actually the first to fall asleep out of all four of them. He was laying on his back, taking silent breaths of air in his sleep. Aurora was currently resting her head on his chest and her paws and wings were wrapped around him. She sighed in contentment and began to fall asleep, comfortable with her position. She can't help but think before passing out entirely.

 _No matter what happens, I'll always love you Ryker._

She finally fell asleep, a smile upon her face. Unknown to her, Ryker was faking his sleep to avoid communicating with the others. He caught her stray thought and looked at her sadly.

 _Even if you knew what I really am?_

He looked at the sky, is eyes briefly illuminated in the darkness. He frowned and leaned his head back down.

"Damn... " he muttered before falling asleep.

 **The Temple of the Undead**

 _"So Moldar kicked the bucket it seems. That damn Alpha seems to be more powerful than I thought."_ Darugas sneered. He dismissed his scrying orb and left the area.

 **Back at New Island**

"So, where to?" Ragna asked.

It was morning and the four of them were at the docks, waiting for the boat to arrive. Ragna was pacing back and forth, bored with doing nothing at the moment. Saphira and Aurora went flying for some exercise. Well, at least that's what they said.

"We are done with Moldar so now we're heading to the Temple of Minerals, which, " Ryker checked his map, "is at the base of Mnt. Silver. Underneath it to be exact."

Ragna nodded and sat down at the edge of the dock.

"What is taking the girls so long?"

Ryker looked up from his map, raiding an eyebrow.

"They probably got hungry again and went hunting. They'll be back."

 **A Clearing a Mile Away (forty minutes earlier)**

 _So you love him with all of your heart?_ Saphira asked.

 _And more._ Aurora replied happily, cleaning a spot on her mane.

 _Does he know?_ Saphira added.

 _We're in a relationship. He confessed to me the same day. He complimented me on everything he could find and poured his heart out. I'm "The Light In His Darkness."_ Aurora replied with a smile.

Saphira smiled at this and returned to grooming herself. She suddenly stopped and looked at Aurora with a curious expression.

 _Tell me, is Alpha always so distant/emotionless and, uh, quiet when we're not trying to talk to him?_

Aurora looked at Saphira, an expression of reassurance dwelled on her face.

 _He actually is always like that. Don't worry, it's not like he doesn't like us, but he just doesn't talk unless he needs to. We need to give him some time._

Aurora noticed that Saphira's worry was still present.

 _Didn't you notice that last moment in the battle between him and Moldar? Moldar said something I couldn't make out and Ryker whispered something to him. It was as if he didn't want us to know something about him._

Aurora looked down, an unreadable expression present on her face.

 _We can trust him, I know it. Maybe there's a reason why he is the way he is._ She thought about what happened to his family but kept it to herself. It was not her place to let others know about that. _And besides, he saved us multiple times and didn't do anything we should worry about._

Saphira nodded, smiling again. However, Aurora was thinking about the sudden burst of power that radiated from Ryker when Moldar copied her.

 _That was too much power to be that of a Knight. Even Ragna wasn't near that level of power. Not only that, I'm sure that wasn't Ryker's full power. He was definitely holding back even with all that rage._

Aurora let out a silent sigh and returned to grooming herself.

 **Present**

"They probably got hungry again and went hunting. They'll be back." Ryker stated.

 _Can't us females go flying around a bit?_ Saphira asked jokingly as she suddenly hugged Ragna from behind.

Ragna winced and rubbed his side as she did so.

"You know, I still hurt."

Saphira simply giggled and sat besides him. Aurora appeared next to Ryker and took a seat as well. Suddenly, a boat can be heard from a distance. They waited for it and Saphira and Aurora returned to their pokeballs. Ragna boarded with Ryker following close behind. Curious, Ryker asked Ragna a question which was still rare for him to do.

"Why are you hurting?"

Ragna winced again and turned to reply in a hushed whisper.

"You know that comment I made during our battle? Well, apparently Saphira heard it and got back at me for it last night before we went to sleep. We walked to a nearby pond while you and Aurora went hunting. I didn't know what was happening at first but, " Ragna whispered even lower, a semi-smile on his face. "let's just say that this time out of our many, uh, sessions, _SHE_ went "Alpha" Ragna finished and walked away.

Ryker, catching on, shook his head and walked towards the bar.

 _Way too much information._

 **Characters**

 **Ryker/Fang, (m),?, 24**

 **Aurora North, (f), Islingr Suicune, 24**

 **Ragna White-Death, (m), Knight, 26**

 **Saphira, (f), Reshiram, 25**

 **Moldar Shapeshifter, (m), Ditto-Knight, 153**

 **Darugas Shade, (m), Gengar-Knight, 181**

 **Review!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hello again! You guys liking the story so far? Tell me what you think of it, either through review or PM. I must say, I didn't expect to get any favorites or followers in such a short time. You guys are awesome. Shout out to Patasaurus, a new follower!**

 **Last time, Ryker and Aurora as well as two new allies, Ragna and Saphira, made their way to The Temple of Plain. In the middle of their trek, Ragna and Ryker faced off, resulting with Ryker being the victor. After the battle and a good night's sleep, they finally made it to The Temple of Plain. They quickly figure out that Ragna was definitely not a dungeon person and that Ryker certainly was. They meet Moldar who, disguised as Arceus, attacked Ragna and Saphira. As Aurora tended their wounds, Ryker faced off with Moldar. At one point, Moldar copied Aurora's appearance as well as her voice. This enraged Ryker and ended up with Moldar reduced to nothing, revealing a darker side of Ryker. They leave the temple and boarded the ship to Kanto, destination: Mnt. Silver. By the way, the rating changed to M for language, blood/gore, and some adult situations/sexual situations.**

 **Disclaimer : I do not own Pokemon.**

 **WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A LEMON! KIDDIES, LOOK AWAY WHEN YOU SEE THE LEMON ALERT!**

 **Chapter 7: Ryker and Liquor and a Strange Boat Ride!**

 _You drink?_ Aurora asked.

Ryker recently bought a small bottle of red wine. They were in an area where trainers can interact with their pokemon freely. There was no one there at the moment so Aurora was outside of her pokeball with no worries of attracting attention. Ryker poured some wine in a small glass.

"Sometimes. I can actually really hold my liquor. Now that I think about, I never got drunk before. I tend to drink wine since I prefer aged berries and fruits over just straight alcohol."

He drank some from the glass and offered Aurora some.

 _Maybe not today but probably sometime else._ she stated.

Ryker shrugged and drank some more, looking out to the sea before them. Suddenly, a man appeared in front of him and gave a small smile.

"So, you like red wine as well. And don't worry about me, I won't make a big deal over your partner pokemon and I can guarantee no one else will as well. We're all pretty mature here."

Ryker and Aurora relaxed and the man pulled up a chair. Ryker offered a glass and the man gladly accepted.

"May I ask you of your name?" Ryker asked.

"My name is Samuel, though most people call me Guzzler, as in, the heaviest drinker of all time." the man replied with a smile.

Samuel had dark brown hair and kind brown eyes. He currently had a tank-top on and cargo shorts on. His hair all over the place, sticking out in random areas and having long lengths. He was slightly shorter than Ryker and had a small muscle build with a small beer belly.

"And you my good man?" Sam added.

"Alpha, pleasure to meet you." Alpha replied.

He downed another glass of liquor, making Aurora wonder how much more he can take. Suddenly, Sam laughed a bit, teeth flashing white all the while.

"My, my. Looks like you're an experienced drinker."

"I only drink from time to time so I wouldn't say I'm experienced. This is only my fourth glass today." Ryker replied.

"Well most people would be buzzed by then!" Sam stated heartily.

"How about a drinking contest, see how many glasses we can down before one of us can't take anymore." he added.

"Well I suppose one can't hurt."

Ryker poured a glass for the two of them and at the same to, they downed their drinks. Sam smiled and presented his glass, gesturing Ryker to pour some more. Ryker did so and again, they downed a glass. Some people noticed this and a small crowd started to form around the two. Some commented on Aurora and brought out their pokedexes, only to find " _ERROR"_ on their screens. Some people even started placing bets on Ryker and Sam, the latter having more bets than the former.

 **Sam's POV**

About seven glasses later...

 _Ahhh, I'm starting to feel dizzy._ Sam thought to himself.

 _Wait, is that a guitar with wings in the sky? Wait, no... damn! I'm starting get to hallucibaba whatever._

Sam's mind started to churn and do back flips. In a few moments, Sam clenched his eyes in pain.

He was drunk.

He looked at Ryker who was fiddling with his glass. He didn't even seem close to buzzed! Sam silently cursed at Ryker and almost swore he saw Ryker's ear twitch as soon as he made the thought. Sam clutched his head again, gulping down another glass of wine as he did so. Suddenly, he felt like his was about to burst and gritted his teeth. Suddenly, his vision was turning black, the people around him were fading and as if he was a sack of potatoes, he collapsed on the table blacking out.

 **Sam's Dreamscape**

 _Sam looked around him and gasped. Nothing but fire was able to be seen. The land was scorched and there were monsters flying through the sky. One of which landed in front of him, shrieking as he did so. Sam screamed, it was beyond ugly._

 _The monster had a contorted face, pus and blood leaked from its pores. It had bloody fingers for hair and six arms. Each of its hands had two fingers and one of its three eyes was missing. The monster's wings were tattered, worms and maggots were crawling all over it. The monster suddenly grabbed Sam and screamed in his face._

 _"Hi daaaaady! Why don't you go play with me and moooomma? Come ooooon, we're waaaaaiiiiting." it said in a distorted male/female voice._

 _Sam screamed and ran the opposite direction. The road below him turned into the back of a giant snake which hissed at him. Eyes started to pop all over the snake and trailed all the way to Sam. He backed away when an eye below him suddenly blinked. Sam screamed again and fell off the road. He fell and fell and landed on a spike which impaled him through the stomach._

 _A giant face with the appearance of a young boy appeared before him._

 _"Son?" Sam asked._

 _The face opened its eyes and mouth and suddenly, numerous black spiders crawled from all possible holes in the face and covered the face entirely. The spiders fell off the face and revealed a skull with swollen eyes. The eyes swelled and bursted, covering Sam in a white substance._

 _"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAADYYYYYYYYYYY!" the skull boomed in a distorted voice._

 _Sam shook with fear and the spike that was in his stomach withdrew and let him fall even more. He fell for maybe a full minute, screaming because of the demonic faces and specters that surrounded him as he fell. He suddenly landed with a sickening crunch and he got up and looked at the scene before him._

 _He saw three monster behemoths. They were huddled over a fire of which, was slowly cooking a faceless human. The human was impaled and tied to a stick that was turning over the fire. Then, the stick abruptly stopped and the faceless fried human looked over at Sam, the three behemoths performing the same movement. The faceless human slowly pointed a bloody finger at Sam who quickly turned around and ran. He could hear the monsters charging after him and ran even faster._

 _Suddenly, he ran up a hill and jumped, hoping he could end this nightmare. Instead, he landed on a gigantic spiderweb which hung over a pool of acid. He suddenly heard a hissing noise and turned around. There was a humongous spider with the head of a pale women with black eyes crawling towards him, its poisonous fangs snapping and dripping with bloody saliva. Sam screamed and struggled, aiming to escape a hellish death. The spiderweb then snapped but he held onto one of its strands for dear life. The strand swung him over to a rock wall of which he quickly grabbed and started to climb. He dug his hand into one of the grooves and suddenly felt something bite his hand. Sam withdrew his hand and looked at the groove. Skulls with the bodies of centipedes came out of the groove, quickly motivating Sam to climb faster and faster._

 _Sam finally reached the top and lay on the ground, catching his breath as he did so. Then, he spotted something falling and widened his eyes in fear. That something turned out to be a body of a woman with a bloody white shirt that reached down to her knees. The woman then landed on the ground horribly, limbs bent at odd angles and head cracked halfway open, revealing a small part of her brain which suddenly grew legs and crawled out of her head. That was not all. Her head suddenly did a full 360 from where it was and looked at him. Her eyes were completely black and were ringed with red. She opened her mouth and screamed._

 _"AAAAHWOAHAAHHWAOOOOHA!"_

 _Sam tried to back away but couldn't, frozen with fear of the sight before him. The woman continued screaming without catching a breath, bringing a horrible and painful ringing echoing in Sam's head. The woman's legs and arms suddenly sprung to life, and she proceeded to crawl towards him like a bug. Sam looked around and found a barbed bat and took it in his hands. He then lifted it and brought it down to the woman's head when she got close._

 _Her head then fully splitted into two separate pieces and her limbs no longer moved. Sam sighed but he screamed yet again._

 _It was a rabbit._

 _This rabbit looked completely innocent, there was nothing wrong with it. No blood, fangs, spiders, or anything hellish about it. But there was one problem, there was an old woman with warts and cracked teeth behind the rabbit. The rabbit squealed as she picked it up. Its name tag flashed and the name "Billy" can be seen._

 _"Billy, nooooooo!" Sam screamed._

 _The old women then laughed evilly and bit into Billy's neck, instantly killing the rabbit. She then looked up at Sam and smiled, rabbit flesh and blood hung from her broken teeth and a laugh emanated from her. She then disappeared and all Sam could see was blood which was flooding the land before him. He was swept up by the blood and started to drown in it. He tried desperately to swim to the surface only to be pulled in by an under-bloodwater vortex, which pulled him into a large drain. He closed his eyes and suddenly felt himself landing on a hard floor._

 _He opened his eyes and looked around, spotting bones and bloody carcasses all over. He took a step back, fearing that the remains were suddenly going to animate and chase after him. Instead, they remained, well, remains. Sam spotted a glint in the shadows behind one of the corpses. He cautiously walked up to it and looked at it. It was a cruel dagger._

 _Sam suddenly snatched the dagger and brought it up to his neck. He was about to slit his own throat but stopped himself. He then lowered the blade, thinking that he shouldn't do it, even to end the nightmare before him. Next thing he knew, an angel appeared before him and offered her hand._

 _Crying with joy, Sam took her hand and gave her his thanks. The angel's face suddenly warped and turned into a warted, ugly, green face with a few missing teeth. Sam screamed and tried to get away but she held firm. The monster then took the dagger, separating his hand from his arm as it did so. Sam screamed in agony, clutching his stubby arm with his free one. The monster walked up to Sam and grabbed him by the neck, effectively choking Sam in the process._

 _The monster raised the dagger and drove it into Sam's head, making Sam fall limp but still able to feel the pain. The monster stabbed his head again and again and again..._

 **Back to Ryker and Aurora**

They looked at Sam, who suddenly passed out on the table. The crowed booed, as most of them had betted on Sam to be the winner. This caused Aurora to give them an angry glare, effectively scaring the crowd away. She then looked at Ryker who hid his amusement.

 _Is he going to be alright? He's twitching in his sleep._ Aurora asked.

Ryker nodded, getting up and walking over to Sam's side of the table.

"Well, we did drink the world's strongest wine. It's not surprising that he passed out like this. But other than that, he'll be fine."

 _The world's strongest wine? How are YOU not drunk? No, how are you not even buzzed?_ Aurora asked incredulously.

"I can hold my liquor and my brain cells don't get affected.. as much. That and I _really_ focus on being sober when I'm drinking."

Aurora let the conversation end at that.

Ryker then took Sam's nose and pinched it closed. After a few seconds, Sam woke up, screaming as he did so.

"WHAAAAAAOOOOOW!" Sam screamed.

Ryker took a step back, as did Aurora.

"Are you alright? You've been out for a minute or so." Ryker asked.

Sam looked at him with bloodshot eyes, holding his head as he did so.

"Only a minute? That felt like an hour in there." Sam remarked as he shuddered.

Then, he patted Ryker on the back, who tensed at the action, and went towards his cabin.

"Nice drinking with you. I'll be in my cabin. I don't think I'll be drinking anytime soon."

Ryker shrugged and walked over to the table, grabbing the empty bottle and glasses and returned them to the clerk at the bar. He then walked back to the Pokemon Interaction Area and sat next to Aurora by the pool. Aurora suddenly jumped into the pool, getting droplets of water all over Ryker.

 _You should come in, water's warm._ Aurora stated with a suggesting smile.

Ryker nodded emotionlessly which annoyed Aurora a bit since she thought that her actions would get a reaction out of him. Ryker walked over to the table and took off his clothes, leaving only his shorts on him. He then walked over to the pool and got in. He released a breath of relaxation as he leaned on the wall of the pool. Aurora looked at him, barely containing herself from drooling.

 _Why do you have to be so damn good looking?_ she thought to herself.

She inspected Ryker's body when he wasn't looking. Water slowly traveled down Ryker's body, curving and stopping when it reached his muscles and abs. When the excess water was cleared, Ryker's body glistened in the sunlight. Aurora snapped out of it when Ryker shifted. He was currently moving his hair out of the way of his eyes. Aurora then swam up to him with a pleading look on her face.

 _Will you swim with me? Please, love?_

Ryker sighed and smiled, rubbing Aurora's neck as he did so. Aurora beamed and swam the opposite direction, taunting Ryker. Ryker chuckled and swam after her with surprising speed.

The pool was as long as the boat and was about 11 feet in width. It had curves and bends as well as some buoys which signaled the deepness of the water. They were currently swimming in a eight feet deep area of the pool. Aurora looked back and was surprised to see Ryker right on her tails. She smiled and sped up, doing barrel rolls and a few leaps in the water as she did so.

 _Is that all you got Ryker?_ she taunted.

For another few minutes, she swam with great speed. Aurora then turned around and was shocked to see that Ryker wasn't behind her.

 _Must have been too fast for him._

She nearly jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Ryker back-stroking and waving at her, smiling teasingly all the way _._ He then suddenly went under, shocking Aurora. She stopped and tried to look for him. After a few seconds, she dove underneath the water to look for him. She looked around, seeing nothing but water all around. She instantly got worried and panicked.

 _Ryker? Ryker, where are you!?_

She then felt a pair of arms wrapping around her neck. Scared out of her fur, she swam to the surface, turning to look at the owner of the arms.

Ryker was there, holding her neck. He was lightly laughing, something Aurora didn't see or hear very often. But Aurora didn't find this funny, giving him a glare. Ryker noticed this and immediately stopped laughing, backing away with a few strokes trying to escape her wrath. He suddenly felt her tackle him from behind and pulled him under.

 _How long can you hold your breath?_ Aurora asked seriously.

 _I can hold my breath for a long while so you don't have to worry._ he replied with suspicion.

He then felt the floor beneath him and felt Aurora lay on top of him. She rested her head on his chest and wrapped her wings and tails around him.

 _We're going to stay like this for a while. Let me know when you are starting to run out of breath._

Ryker shook his head, smiling all the while and hugged Aurora back, bringing joy to her in ways he cannot imagine.

Ryker and Aurora walked down the hallway. They were looking for Ragna and Saphira but couldn't find them anywhere.

 _Maybe we should save some food for them?_ Aurora suggested.

Ryker sighed and nodded, turning a corner with Aurora following close behind. Ryker suddenly stopped and flushed, Aurora looked at him with curiosity. Ryker, without letting her ask a question, pointed to the room to his left and quickly walked away. Confused, Aurora leaned her head on the door and focused, immediately regretting it afterwards.

"Ahh, Saphira. You're so warm... "

 _And you're filling. Please, hon , keep it up._

 _" *grunt* *phew* *phew* *phew*. "_

 _Ooooh, yes. Harder! Harder!_

"Gladly."

 _Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh..._

"Saphira, I'm c-!"

 _Go ahead. Fill me up my Knight in shining armor._

"Arghh! Ahh... "

 _Ahh! Oooooooh..._

Aurora's face burned and she quickly ran after Ryker, nearly tripping and bumping into a few trainers along the way.

"So, uh, what would you like to eat?" Ryker asked awkwardly.

They were currently in the buffet area of the boat. Neither of them spoke of what they heard earlier and silently agreed to keep it that way.

 _Umm, nothing in particular. Maybe I'll go for some fish or something along those lines._ Aurora replied, just as awkward.

Ryker nodded and proceeded to pick out their plates. One he was finished, they headed back to their cabin room, locking the door behind them as they entered.

They sat on the bed and started to eat their food. Aurora had cooked Kingler, an assortment of berries, and some baked potatoes covered with melted cheese and bacon. Ryker had raw MooMoo steak (he had to personally request that), some cold pasta, and a few slices of jackfruit.

"How's the food?" Ryker asked out of the blue.

 _It's great, but not as great as freshly caught like whenever you hunt._ Aurora replied with a smile.

Ryker nodded and returned the smile, gently brushing her luscious blue mane with his free hand.

When they finished their food, they decided to explore more of the boat. They came across a sports area and confronted a burly man who stated that Ryker was a weakling. Ryker wanted to walk away without a fight but Aurora was furious and "accidentally" shoved Ryker into the man. The man fumed and challenged Ryker to an arm wrestling match. Figuring there was no way out of the situation, Ryker accepted, giving Aurora a glare. She simply smiled innocently and wished him luck. As the two men took their seats, Aurora couldn't help but smile.

 _Sure the guy's bigger and towers over Ryker, but Ryker will DEMOLISH him._

Ryker and the man placed their elbows and grasped each others hands.

"Ready?" the self-claimed referee asked.

They nodded and the referee signaled them to go. Immediately, the man pushed against Ryker's hands, veins bulging on his arms as he did. Ryker didn't give an effort as he calmly held his hand in place, not letting it move an inch. Annoyed, the man tried even harder to win but instead, Ryker pushed a little bit, forcing the man to move his hand the other way.

"What!?" the man exclaimed.

Ryker simply looked at the man's eyes, scaring the hell out of him. Worried of losing, the man used his other hand as well.

Ryker's hand still didn't budge.

Suddenly, Ryker pushed with little effort, sending the man's hand crashing into the side of the table. The man paled, shocked that he lost so easily. The referee announced that Ryker was the winner and walked away.

"Bull! Your ass cheated!" the man exclaimed.

The man flipped the table and smashed the chair against the wall, scaring nearby hockey players as well. Ryker calmly sat there on his chair, not doing anything.

"You think I care about this shit?! Guess what? I don't! You're lucky I have to leave right now, else, you and your white ass dog would have been toast!" the man exclaimed.

And with that, the man turned around and walked away fuming. What he didn't see, however, was Ryker's glare. Aurora noticed it and quickly backed away.

 _He wants to threaten Aurora, does he?_ Ryker thought.

He got up from his seat, seemingly calm to Aurora's surprise. It was amazing to see his mood change quickly like that. Ryker walked over to the equipment the hockey players dropped and picked up a puck. He then turned the puck slowly in his hands, giving a deadly wolfish smile at the same time.

He's suddenly threw the puck at amazing speed rivaling that of a Salamence in flight. The puck hit a wall, ricochet and hit a bucket with a broom, and finally hit a gallon bucket full of water. The bucket busted and the water inside flowed outwards, reaching the man from earlier. The man immediately lost his balance and slipped, sliding and falling off the stairs leading to the lower levels of the boat. The sound of glass and plates breaking can be heard from below. A pained groan was heard shortly afterwards.

Aurora blinked, trying to comprehend what had happened just now. She then turned to Ryker, who was cleaning up the mess the man had made while whistling a happy tune. After he finished, Ryker walked over to Aurora and picked her up, surprising her and walked away from the area. Aurora looked up at Ryker who stared right back at her in the eyes.

 _If there is anyone who threatens or says anything hurtful to you, tell me and I will GLADLY_ take care of them. Ryker told her in a happy voice.

However, she knew he was deadly serious and shuddered inwardly.

It was night and the boat still hadn't reached Kanto yet. Ryker figured it wasn't going to be until for at least a day or two. He told his thoughts to Aurora who agreed with no problems with it at all. They were in the cabin room, watching some of the television the ship provided. They were currently watching a movie, **Where The Red Fern Grows** and when it ended, Aurora was on the verge of tears. She looked at Ryker who was calmly switching the TV off.

 _Aren't you sad? I certainly am._ she told him.

"Read the book." was his reply.

 _You're heartless._ she joked.

He simply shrugged and rested his head on the pillow.

"Do you want to do anything else today?"

 _No, I'm satisfied._ Aurora replied with a giggle.

After the arm wrestling match, they had gone for some more swimming, played a game where they had to throw a ring and have it land on the neck of a bottle, participated in a concert of some sort, won a pokemon contest (they won some money and a fishing pole of which Ryker thought they didn't need), Ryker participated in a wrestling match and won flawlessly, Aurora entered a beauty contest and won, and finally, Aurora begged Ryker to sing a song to her which he rejected, much to her disappointment. But, he told her that he would make it up for her later which raised her spirits a bit.

 _So, what do you plan on doing for me?_ Aurora asked.

Ryker smiled, remembering what he had promised her earlier and told her to lie down on her stomach. She did so and wondered what he was planning to do. She suddenly blushed when he kneeled down behind her taking off his jacket.

 _Ryker, I don't think I'm ready for this._ she told him.

Oblivious to what she meant, he responded by lightly massaging her back, earning a moan of contentment from her.

"I think you need this very much, actually."

Aurora blushed even harder as he said that. How did she get the wrong idea? Well, actually, it was easy to misread that situation. However, she dismissed the thought as he massaged her shoulders and neck, getting everywhere where stress had built up.

Ryker then moved on to her legs, twisting and kneading her muscles with skills of a professional. He then worked on her hind legs, doing similar movements like the ones he did with her fore legs. Aurora just lay there, mouth agape and lightly moaning.

 _This. Is. So. Heavenly._ she thought.

Ryker cracked a smile when he heard this and doubled, no, quadrupled his efforts, making Aurora moan in ecstasy and melt onto the bed. Ryker then began massaging her wings, making sure to get every spot on them.

"Enjoying this, dear?" he asked.

Aurora shuddered, the combination of his massaging and caring voice as well as him calling her "dear" was almost too much for her.

Ryker guessed that from her silence, he must be doing well. He continued his administrations and finished massaging her wings and moved on to the sides of her face. He rubbed her cheeks in circles, as well as gently rubbing her muzzle with his rough fingers. Finally, he moved on to her crest, rubbing it from the base up. Her crest was smaller than other Suicune. It only reached about half of the normal height it was supposed to have. Ryker thought, if anything, it wasn't strange but only added to her uniqueness and beauty. Once he was finished, he moved to each of her paws and massaged them, taking care to not put too much pressure on her toes. After finishing up her paws, he went to her tails. The tails were almost the easiest part of her to massage. He rubbed them, undoing any knots that were present, if any.

"Alright, now can you roll over onto your back?" he asked.

Aurora complied but had trouble doing so. She felt so good she didn't want to move. Seeing her predicament, he turned her over himself gently.

"If you feel uncomfortable, tell me." he told her.

Aurora barely nodded as he started massaging her. He kneaded her chest, twisting and using his palms to do so. He wasn't worried of violating her anywhere, as dog-like species like her didn't grow nipples until pregnant with pups. Afterwards, the nipples would shrink (when pups don't need milk) to a small size that would wouldn't be noticeable unless you looked hard enough. He continued to do this and when he felt like he was done, he moved on to her stomach.

Now the stomach was different. He only had to rub it gently. Any kneading would probably be uncomfortable if he did. Plus, her food had just digested so kneading it wouldn't do. He continued doing this until he heard Aurora let out a sigh of relaxation. Feeling that his job was done, he got out of the position he was using to massage her and lay back down on the bed with her.

"How do you feel?" Ryker asked with a knowing smile.

Aurora looked at him incredulously, not believing how much pleasure he had given to her through a simple massage.

 _I don't think I can explain with words. But, I got another idea._

She suddenly leaned in and kissed him deeply. Ryker wrapped his arms around her and returned the kiss, stroking her back as he did so. Aurora felt his tongue prodding her lips for permission and she gladly accepted, opening her mouth to allow him entrance.

Their tongues mingled, wrestling for dominance. Aurora moaned when Ryker rubbed the roof of her mouth with his mouth. Their tongues connected again, Ryker's easily gaining dominance over hers. Aurora explored his mouth which tasted of spicy cinnamon. She savored this, wishing for it to never end. To Ryker, her mouth tasted like icy mint with a hint of fruitiness. He held her closer, brushing her mane with his fingers.

Aurora dug her claws into the mattress, making fresh holes in it. She thought to herself dreamily.

 _Here we are kissing. I must be lucky that he has no problem being with me. I'm not even human and he loves me and I him._

Ryker caught the last bits of her thoughts and responded to her.

 _No, it is I who is lucky for meeting someone as beautiful as you. For meeting someone whose voice calms me like the singing of angels. Whose eyes shines with brilliance, making the sun look as dark as black. Whose very personality and nature, keeps mine in check._

He deepened the kiss, not noticing the stream of tears falling from Aurora's eyes.

 _And finally, the one who is the very reason I'm here now. To protect with my life and to care for endlessly. The very reason for my existence._ he finished.

Aurora cried happily even harder now. She broke the kiss with Ryker and hugged him with as much force she can muster. Ryker gladly returned the hug, stroking her mane again.

"Aurora, it's getting late. Rest and so shall I."

Aurora simply buried her face into his chest and closed her eyes.

 _I love you Ryker. I love you with everything I can offer._

Ryker chuckled and kissed her head.

"And I you. By the way, you don't have to offer anything. I love you and I will continue to do so for eternity."

As he said this, he turned off the lights and Aurora kissed him once more before going to sleep.

 **Warning: Lemon**

 **With Ragna and Saphira**

 _Ready for one more round, sweetie?_ Saphira asked mischievously.

Ragna wiped the sweat in his brow and smiled.

"Of course, my everything."

He kissed her and Saphira responded by rubbing his member with her paw. Ragna grunted as she did this, slowly coming to full mast. Saphira smiled and kissed him again, moaning as Ragna rubbed her rump.

Ragna then drew a breath sharply as Saphira suddenly broke the kiss and took his member into her maw. Ragna felt like he was in heaven. Her mouth was really really warm and she had ridges on the roof of her mouth that increased his pleasure two-fold. He then let out a small moan as she started to use her tongue.

Saphira smiled as she swirled her tongue around the tip of "mini-Ragna" and constricted it like a snake. This earned a grunt from Ragna and a small spurt of pre. She then engulfed his whole member, careful not to cut him with her teeth, and bobbed her head up and down slowly.

"Ahh, so good.. " Ragna moaned.

Saphira then bobbed her head even faster, increasing the build-up in Ragna's loins. Saphira released his member and lapped at his jewels, making Ryker shudder since she had a _REALLY_ long and wet tongue. She sucked on one of his orbs, rolling it with her tongue gently before moving onto the other one. After a few minutes of this, she was suddenly pushed onto her back, her tail died down its fire to avoid burning the bed.

Ragna moved his head down closer to her moist womanhood and gave it a quick line, earning a loud moan from Saphira.

 _Oooh.. That feels so good, Ragna. Please continue..._

Ragna happily complied and lapped at her walls, swirling his tongue in every place it could reach. Saphira moaned even more and painted heavily. Ragna quickly lapped up her juices as she became even wetter. He then focused his attention at her nub and sucked on it.

 _Aaah! Aaah! Yes! Just like that- YES! Saphira_ moaned.

Ragna continued tongue-lashing her nub, occasionally kissing it and flicking it with his tongue. He then spread her legs wider and drove his tongue as far as he could into her, making her scream in ecstasy. He then took his tongue and pumped it up and down like he would his member. This got the desired effect and Saphira let out a low moan, clutching the bed sheet with her claws and beating the bedframe with her wings. Ragna suddenly withdrew getting Saphira disappointed and slightly annoyed.

 _Why did you st-?_

He cut her off by driving his member into her slit. He then started to pump into her, making her moan in short, choppy, bits.

 _Ne-e-e-v-v-er-m-m-in-d._

Ragna sped up, the room was filled with the noise with skin against draconian skin. Ragna rammed her quick and hard multiple times, sometimes hitting a very special spot within Saphira. When he did, she would moan and she would produce even more juices that would leak onto the bed below. Ragna then did the unexpected. He grabbed her hips, flipped her onto her stomach, and hilted himself, balls deep, inside her. He shuddered as he came in great, copious amounts. The very act and the feeling of his seed erupting within her caused Saphira to climax as well, drowning Ragna's lower half in her juices. Ragna panted heavily and collapsed on the bed on her left side, sliding out of her slowly with an audible _squelch!._

Saphira shuddered as he did so, basking in the afterglow and enjoying the fact that something that was warm other than her fire was in her body. She turned over to face Ragna, licking him on the cheek and cradling him with her wings. Ragna kissed her forehead and pulled her closer to him.

 _I love you my Knight, my everything._ Saphira whispered in his head.

"I love you too, my Flame of Life*, I will love you to the point that you will get sick of it." Ragna replied, chuckling all the while.

Ragna gave her muzzle a light kiss before falling asleep as well.

Morning came and Ryker and Aurora were walking to Ragna's and Saphira's room. Well, Ryker was walking and Aurora was being carried in his arms.

 _You know, you don't have to carry me, I can just go back in the pokeball._

"It's fine, you're not heavy at all." Ryker replied.

When they awoke, Aurora was unable to move. She couldn't walk nor fly so Ryker offered to carry her.

 _Only because of YOUR massaging last night._ she retorted.

"Which you needed a lot. Now, whenever you feel stressed, let me know so that you won't end up like this again. Not that I mind carrying you of course."

Aurora sighed. She knew she was defeated and it was pointless to banter with him in the first place. She smiled though, glad that he was willing to do so much for her.

 _I'll work hard to return the favor._ she thought to herself with a contented sigh.

They walked further down the hallway and were about to turn a corner until they spotted Ragna and Saphira walking towards them.

"Morning guys! Where were you yesterday? Saphira and I have been looking for you but we couldn't find you anywhere." Ragna announced.

"I got caught in a drinking contest as well as an arm wrestling match-" Ryker replied.

 _Which you won._ Aurora interrupted with a giggle.

"-and we checked out the things in the sports and games area in the boat." Ryker finished.

"No matter, we gave up searching for you guys and retreated to our room to, uh, sleep." Ragna replied with a nervous smile.

Saphira looked nervous as well and tried her best not to show it. Unknown to them, Ryker and Aurora already knew what they meant by that. Said two quickly change the subject before things got awkward..

"Oh, we should be arriving at The League shortly." Ryker announced.

"What do we do from there?" Ragna replied with a hidden sigh of relief.

"From there, we leave to Mnt. Silver which is nearby and head for the temple."

"Alright then." Ragna said.

The group walked over to the end of the ship where the food court is located. Ryker helped Aurora pick out her food and they left to sit at one of the tables after Ryker paid the clerk. Ragna and Saphira got there food as well and paid before sitting across from Ryker and Aurora. Many people were surprised to see two legendaries in the area and took pictures. Many commented how amazing it was for legendaries who are normally gigantic to be shrunken down to a small size when in Altered Form. Those who had taken pictures were immediately confused after Ryker psychically damaged them, making them beyond repairable.

 _Should we get out of sight of return to our pokeballs?_ Saphira asked.

"There's no point anymore. Besides, what are they going to do about it that is going to affect us in a bad way?" Ryker answered.

They continued to eat their food and the crowd of people returned to whatever they were doing. Suddenly, Ragna voiced a thought.

"Wait, what about Team Rocket? Wouldn't they go after us?"

"I wouldn't worry about that. Their leader died with unknown third-degree burns that seemingly came from nowhere. Some people say though that Arceus was angry and passed judgement on the man." Ryker replied with a tone in his voice the others couldn't figure out.

Ryker gave a small look of amusement.

"This happened some time ago. I can also tell you right now that Lady Arceus did not do that to the Team Rocket leader. The investigators never did figure out where the burns came from... "

Aurora and the others looked at him with a look of complete surprise.

 _I have a feeling Lady Arceus and Alpha had a hand in it._ Aurora told the others who quickly nodded before Ryker can noticed their strange behavior of secrecy.

They finished their food but stayed at the area for a bit. The sun was high in the sky, its reflection gleaming from the ocean below. Some Wingull can be seen as well as some Pelipper. The horn of the boat suddenly sounded and the sound of a speaker being powered on drowned out all noise in their area.

"We are now preparing to dock ladies and gentlemen and of course, pokemon. Please prepare and grab your things. There will be some helpers at The League so do not worry about getting help. Thank you for choosing Little Ann for your transport. Have a nice day folks. We look forward to see you next time."

The speaker went silent and people all over the boat began going to their rooms to get there things, Ryker and the group included.

In their room, Ryker was grabbing their materials and supplies from a nearby desk. Aurora was patiently waiting by the door for Ryker to be finished.

"You can go on ahead, I'll be with you in a bit."

Aurora nodded and left the cabin, not noticing the grim look on his face when she did so.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey there! I was wondering, should I categorize this story as a crossover? Just wondering. Message me through** **ShInyUmbreonEngland** **when you get the chance! Shout out to Kyuubi-4-lyfe! So last time in Light In My Darkness, they boarded the ship and Ryker got caught in a drinking contest with a man who goes by Sam the Guzzler. Sam gets drink and has a weird hellish nightmare about his personal problems and comes to when Ryker wakes him up. Sam leaves the area and Ryker and Aurora explore the ship, Ryker won an arm wrestling contest, and some other things. The night before, Ryker gave her a massage and Ragna and Saphira get it on ^_^ The boat finally arrives at The League. Onwards to our story. Guess what? We're going to know more about Ryker.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon.**

 **Chapter 8: The Journey To The Temple of Minerals.**

Ryker picked up the bag and walked over the door, checking the time on his silver watch as he did so. The watch was made of the same material of his sword and armor and the the numbers were white glowing Roman numerals. The hands were glowing white as well. Ryker kept this watch on his left hand and sometimes kept it on his right being ambidextrous and all.

 _Two-thirty. I should get to the others before they start to worry._

He redirected his attention to the door, his watch disappearing in a shroud of darkness. A bright flash occurred behind him before he could leave.

 _I felt your aura from all the way back at The Hall of Origins. If you got any angrier, you could have accidentally transformed._ Jeanne informed.

Ryker locked the door and turned around, giving Jeanne a cold stare.

"I know that but I kept it hidden from them. You know I never lost control before so why worry now?"

Jeanne floated over to the bed and rested on it.

 _Yes, I know that. But, that's not the point I'm trying to make._

Ryker knew she wouldn't have any of it from him and leaned on one of the walls of the room, putting his pack down beside him. Jeanne looked at him with a stern look.

 _You know very well that if you continue on with this quest, sooner or later you might lose control when you encounter one of the possessed Knights. What will you do then? Will you run off, disappearing to who knows where leaving Aurora confused and heartbroken. Or will you stay and face her and the others knowing full well that they may lose their trust in you as well as hating you._

Ryker stiffened but remained silent.

 _I think that you should either leave them now, or do this quest on your own. Both of which will hurt them somewhat but at least they wouldn't find out your secret._

"... They won't find out my secret, and I won't lose control of... my transformation. Really, it all depends on what happens in the future. If I have to show them the real me than so be it." Ryker replied grimly.

 _*sigh* Well, it's up to you. But know this, if, and that's a big if, you end up losing control, then I can't stop what happens next. Even I cannot stop you. Remember that._

With that, Jeanne disappeared, leaving Ryker to his own thoughts and decisions. After a few minutes to himself, he left the room.

"Where were you?" Ragna asked as they walked out of The League and onto a road.

"Supplies." Ryker replied, seemingly distant.

Ragna raised an eyebrow and looked at the two legendaries who shrugged their shoulders in response to his silent question. Aurora looked at Ryker with a worried expression, then accidentally bumped into someone.

"Whoop. Sorry about th- Lady Suicune! I am so sorry!" the person exclaimed while looking at the others. "Oh, greetings Lady Reshiram!" he added.

Aurora shook her head, looking at the one looking at the one who bumped into her.

 _Chosen One? Is that you Ash Ketchum?_

The group (except Ryker) looked at the newcomer to see a young man in his twenties. The raven-haired man had brown eyes and stood with a height of 5' 11''. He had a jacket with a pokebank design on the left chest area and fingerless gloves. On his shoulder rested a powerful looking Pikachu, who, at the sight of Ryker, started to spark dangerously, surprising the rest of the group.

"Pika pikachu! Pika pika chu pika!" the pokemon exclaimed.

Ash noticed this, seemingly understanding the small pokemon, and looked at Ryker. Suddenly, his eyes flashed with a blue aura and an ethereal blade appeared in his hands. Without warning, he charged at Ryker.

 _Ash wai-_ Aurora began but was too late.

Ash's aura blade was an inch away from Ryker's face. Said person finally noticed Ash and faster than a fraction of a millisecond, dodged to the left taking Ash's arm with one hand and with the other, thrusted into Ash's right elbow in the opposite direction it was supposed to bend.

*Crack!*

Ash yelled in pain and summoned an **Aura Sphere** in his left hand. Before he got to fire it, however, a **Psychic** enveloped his arm, preventing him to move any further. He turned to Aurora, whose eyes are glowing blue with mental power.

 _Chosen one, Pikachu, restrain yourselves! He is not the enemy! Dispel the_ _ **Aura Sphere**_ _and I'll explain the situation._

Ash looked at Aurora then at Ryker. He mentally shivered. What he saw was a dark aura so powerful that it makes Ash's power as The Aura Prince seem drastically miniscule. Defeated, he dispelled his attack and Pikachu stopped his electric flow. Aurora released her psychic hold on Ash and sat down in front of him.

 _You should sit and get comfortable because this will take a while to explain._

 **45 minutes of explaining, introductions, and answering questions later...**

"I'm sorry . I did not realize that Pikachu and I were attacking a Knight such as yourself. Please forgive me." Ash apologized with Pikachu bowing apologetically.

Ryker shrugged and walked off the path towards the woods.

"It's fine."

Ash and Pikachu looked at Ryker incredulously who just disappeared off into the woods.

"I attack him and he forgives me just like that?! Not only that, but he just walked into the woods as if nothing happened at all?" Ash exclaimed with Pikachu nodding his head in agreement.

Aurora looked at Ash and smiled.

 _I guess so. Don't worry, he'll be back in about two hours or so. We should start planning, Ragna, Lady Reshiram._ (if you didn't notice, in the presence of other legendaries or newcomers, legendaries address each other formally.)

The two nodded but Ash still looked confused.

"How do you know he'll be back by then?" Ash asked.

"He probably told her mentally." Ragna answered as he sat down on a nearby rock. "Now," he continued, "my colleagues, what shall we do for the temple?"

Aurora and Saphira started to throw in some ideas while Ash sat down and looked at Pikachu.

"I wonder if he's mad at us."

Said person was currently doing one-thumbed push-ups on one hand.

 _It's good that we got off the boat. I couldn't leave early in the morning to train like I am now. I have to try and make up three days of work out. 149 and 150._

Ryker got up and stretched his left arm, letting out a contented sigh before getting in push-up position with his right thumb. Later, Ryker did some crunches on the branch of a large tree. Then, he did a large set of lunges and some stretching. To finish it off, he ran several miles around the perimeter.

"This leaves about an hour of working on my hand to hand combat and swordsmanship." he mumbled to himself.

 **An hour later...**

Ryker was leaning against the tree, sweating and breathing somewhat heavily. All around him were broken and battered trees with holes from punches and kicks or sword slashes. Ryker looked at the sun, shielding his eyes and squinting .

"Time to.. *huff* get back. After a quick dip in that pond of course."

 **Back to the group**

"So that's that. The plan: let Alpha lead so we won't set off any traps, let him answer riddles and puzzles, and help him fight the Knight." Ragna recapped with a chuckle.

Soon, Saphira and Aurora were laughing as well. They all knew he was serious and they all knew that all they could do was to fight the Knight in the end. Ash and Pikachu sweat-dropped.

"Two hours of planning just to end with that?"

The others looked at the Aura Prince and his partner. Their faces were beaming as they nodded. Ash sweat-dropped again and Pikachu fell off his shoulder in hopelessness. Ash then thought of something.

"Hold on, do you guys (and gals) mind if we came along to help?"

The others looked at him but Saphira was the one who spoke up.

 _We don't mind at all. But, don't you have your duties as Aura Prince?_

Ash looked down, crestfallen.

"Right, sorry. But I would help you all if I could!" he added with a look of determination.

The others nodded in agreement, knowing full well that Ash meant every word. They all turned towards the woods when their heard some rustling. Ryker walked out of the foliage, wiping some water from his hair. Aurora stiffened.

He didn't put on his shirt yet.

Speaking of, Ryker used his shirt to dry the rest of his hair and put it on.

 _You'd think I would already be used to seeing him look like that._ Aurora thought to herself.

Ryker walked up to the group and looked at his three traveling companions.

"What's the plan" he asked.

The others, including Ash and Pikachu, chuckled at his question leaving him confused.

 **Later**

"I guess I'll be going now." Ash announced after the group got their things together.

Aurora walked up to him, bowing in respect when she did so.

 _Good luck on your journey, Chosen One. I hope you will succeed in your goals._

Ash smiled and nodded, thanking her. He then waved his hand in farewell to the others, stopping when Ryker gave him a pointed look. Ash suddenly flinched when he heard a familiar voice in his head.

 _I also wish you luck, Chosen One. I also want to say that your skills as Aura Prince are impressive. Work as hard as you do now and in the near future, I'm sure you will have no problem with completing your goals. I expect great things from you, Ash Ketchum._ Ryker remarked.

Ash was surprised, but smiled in thanks to Ryker who nodded slightly. Ash then turned around and continued down the path, heading towards The League. Ash then noticed Pikachu, who was ecstatic and was downing a bottle of ketchup.

"Where did you get that, buddy?"

Pikachu looked at Ash, tears rushing down his face in happiness and pointed behind him.

"Chuuu!"

Ash turned around to see the others walking away. Ash's eyes suddenly widened, then smiled when he saw Ryker give a small friendly hand gesture with his back turned.

"That guy.."

 **Noon**

"Have any of you seen the bottle of ketchup that Alpha bought at the boat?" Ragna asked, rummaging through their supplies.

He looked up to see Aurora and Saphira shake their heads.

"Weird." he remarked.

He turned to Ryker who just finished roasting the two Skarmony he had caught just a while before. Ragna looked uneasy, then spoke up.

"How are we going to eat that?"

Ryker was about to reply but Saphira beat him to it.

 _When the meat is fully roasted, you have to wait for the armor to cool down. Then, peel off the armor, which should come off easily, and eat the meat attached to it. Oh, and thanks for cooking it for me Alpha._ she finished.

Ryker simply nodded and continued to scorch the Skarmony, being careful not to burn them too much with his dark-white flames.

 _Can't you cook it yourself? You are a dragon after-all._ Aurora question.

 _Well, whenever Alpha cooks, you two always comment about how delicious it is. So, I wanted to try for myself. It is actually smelling really good right now._ Saphira replied.

They turned to Ryker who added a pinch of some spice they didn't recognize.

"Then we add one of this and some of that.. " Ryker who mumbled to himself.

The ingredients were spread into the cracks and crevices in the armor of each Skarmony. A mouth-watering aroma covered the area, Ragna started to drool a bit uncontrollably.

 _Thank you mother for giving me those cooking lessons..._ Ryker thought to himself sadly.

Aurora was the only one to notice the change of Ryker's expression. She frowned, deciding to ask him about it later. The food finally finished and Saphira was the first to take a bite out of her Skarmony. She paused after swallowing a leg.

 _This. Is. DELICIOUS!_ she exclaimed, earning a chuckle from Aurora and Ragna.

Ryker was eating a Linoone, a small one at that. He gave a small smile before returning to his meal. Later, they were on the road again, sweating in the 107 heat. Ryker was the only one who seemed to be unaffected by it. Aurora didn't mind the heat but still preferred a lower temperature. The others questioned this and he replied by saying that he never thinks about the heat but focuses on his goal. This earned looks of confusion from the others.

Ragna was thinking about Ryker the whole time, making sure his thoughts didn't leak.

 _So for the past few days, yeah he's been really helpful and really nice. But why the hell is it so hard to get him to talk or smile? I feel like he's hiding something from us. He never gave us straight answers about personal things and he's always so calm in fights._

Finally deciding what to do, he stopped, catching the attention of others.

"Wait. Alpha, I need some answers from you and I'm not taking no for an answer."

They looked at said person who turned around to look at Ragna.

"Is there something wrong, Ragna?" he asked.

"Well, for someone to be my partner, I need to trust him/her before putting my life on the line him/her." Ragna replied with a glare.

 _Are you saying that you don't trust Alpha?_ Saphira remarked, shocked at her lover's sudden behavior.

"How can I when the guy doesn't trust us enough to know anything about him except his obvious skills and name, which by the way, is Ryker not Alpha. I heard Aurora say it the other day."

Saphira and Aurora looked at Ryker, wondering what they should do.

Ryker didn't disagree with any of it.

"Well? I've been hiding all my suspicions all this time. Why don't you tell us more about yourself?" Ragna asked irritated.

Ryker sighed, holding up his hands in defense.

"I'm sorry, all of you, that I haven't been completely honest with any of you."

Aurora was about to retort but was cut off.

"Look, I didn't tell your or Saphira my real name because I have a problem trusting others, especially humans. All I can tell you is the things you already know about me, nothing more." Ryker added.

"Why can't you tell us? We're your friends aren't we?" Ragna asked, furious.

"Of course you are. But, you have to understand from my point of view, why I have a problem trusting others, why I don't interact with others much, why I never had anyone to call friends but you three and Lady Arceus." Ryker retorted in a calm voice.

"I don't care, tell me why!" Ragna shouted, making the two legendaries flinch.

"Because I don't care." Ryker replied in a cold tone, scaring the three a bit.

Ryker continued, no emotion was visible on his face. His voice didn't have any signs of friendliness it had earlier. Just monotone.

"I honestly don't give a damn about everybody else in my life except for four people and a few others. Why? Before you met me, I was constantly hated upon in my hometown. No, my whole kind was. My parents and baby brother were hated as well, but they did nothing wrong. I had to fight through hell everyday since the day I was a kid to survive. Everyday, I held back, letting other kids beat me and walk away victorious. Every damn day I had to endure many hardships thrown at me. From then on, I stopped caring. The only ones keeping me from taking my anger out on humans now are you four, Lady Arceus and her mate, and a few others." he finished.

Aurora and Saphira was saddened, having no idea that Ryker had to fight to survive for such a long time. Ragna wasn't moved.

"You think that's bad? Imagine having parents having to leave everyday leaving me by myself all the time. But I knew it was to provide for the family so I didn't complain. You're not the only one who had a rough past, _RYKER."_

 _Ragna! Sto-!_ Saphira began.

Suddenly, they all felt Ryker's aura expand rapidly but quickly hid itself. They all looked at Ryker, who had an angry but pained look on his face. He stepped forth, making Ragna step back in fear.

"At least your home wasn't destroyed because of what you are. At least you still have your parents. At least you can still see them everyday. At least you didn't watch your whole family, your only happiness, get slaughtered in front of you." Ryker retorted, no emotion was evident but his eyes showed fury.

The others were shocked, finally seeming to feel his pain. Ragna was speechless but got anxious when he saw Ryker walking away.

"Wait, Ryker, I didn-"

Ryker cut him off.

"You want to know why I chose "Alpha"? Because I showed the townspeople what they wanted. The real me, a monster that brings destruction worse than hell. Survivors wrote about me and gave me that title. In the end, it was me who wiped out my whole homeland."

And with that, he left. The others looked at each other, not believing what they had heard.

 _I had no idea..._ Aurora announced, a tear making its way down her face.

Ragna was pale, his skin tone nearly matching Saphira's hide.

"I-I-I really screwed up guys. I didn't mean for it to end up like this."

 _There's no way you could have known. Give him some space and you'll eventually make up with him._ Saphira assured sadly, wrapping her wing around Ragna who was quickly tearing up.

 _So, he told you of his past?_ Jeanne announced, startling the hell out of Saphira and Ragna.

Aurora felt her presence so she wasn't surprised. She nodded her head in confirmation to the question. Jeanne floated to the center of the three, raising a rock platform and laying down on it.

 _Since he came out with it, I suppose it's ok to tell you a bit more about him._

 _It all began when he turned five years old. As you know, he has complete mastery of flames and any form of darkness. He was actually born with the abilities but didn't completely master it until his father, Shadow, taught him. His mother, Midnight, taught him everything about home economics and manners. The former taught him everything he needed to know about survival. Though, Ryker taught himself how to fight in any situation which strikes me as very impressive. Anyways, people began to learn about the Fang from Darugas and slowly banded together to rid themselves of the small family. There were others like the Fang family but they were ignorant and sought power. They were killed off though, one by one they went and eventually, the Fang were the only ones left. One day, when Ryker was nine, I think, the townspeople figured out about the Fang family as I stated before and attacked their house. Unfortunately, his mother, father, and his three-year-old brother, Vulcan are no longer of this world. They could have fought back but doing so will only give the people what they want. That day marked the day when Ryker became the last, though the world seemed to think that they went extinct. The day also marked when he became known as "The Alpha." One reason is that he is the strongest of his kind in history, his power surpasses even that of mine. The other reason will make sense if you find out in the future. Continuing on, he went on a rampage, laying waste to nearly everything on that continent, all of which merely took about one hour. When he recovered, he decided to just not care about life anymore. Even when he accepted to work under my supervision, to try to "atone" for what he had done, he never cared about anyone or anything he met on his quests, save for you three, a few others, and apparently,_ Jeanne gave a small smile, _myself._

The others were silent, slowly registering the morbid but interesting information Jeanne had given. Suddenly, Aurora stood up and walked away earning a curious look from the others.

 _I'm going to him._

Jeanne got up quickly and made her way to Aurora, blocking her path.

 _You mustn't, there's no telling what he might do to you!_

Aurora said nothing and walked around Jeanne. The others stared after her in shock. Suddenly though, Jeanne was smiling, knowing that Aurora will most likely succeed at her attempt.

Aurora followed the path Ryker had left behind. There was ash, burnt foliage, and black footsteps that were sizzling with every second. The trail led to nearby cave which emitted tremendous heat. Aurora stopped at the entrance.

 _Ryker? I'm going to come in._

No response.

 _But I can't do that unless you turn down the heat a bit._ she added.

The heat still remained, in fact, the rock inside was glowing because of the pure heat that radiated from Ryker. Somewhat annoyed, Aurora let out a stream of water, somewhat cooling down the cave before her. Though water from herself can put anything out instantly, she wasn't sure if she could stop Ryker's dark hellfire. She quickly ran in before the cave started heating up again. She reached the deepest area of the cave and spotted Ryker leaning against the wall. His eyes were unfocused and he didn't move in response to her appearance.

"I would like to be alone." he stated blankly.

 _I'm here to talk to you, Ryker. Let me try to help._ Aurora pleaded.

Ryker didn't reply but a look of anger was apparent on his face.

"Look Aurora, please leave me. I don't want to do something I will regret."

Aurora stepped forth, looking straight into his white eyes.

 _No._

Ryker seemed to ignore her and looked at a wall. Aurora was adamant and true to her word, she didn't move. However, in the next few minutes, the heat started to pick up again and the stone floor started to slightly burn her paws, making her wince and give a whine. Ryker snapped out of it and picked her up, the heat in the cave cooling down as he looked at her.

"Never again. Never will I make you make that noise again. I'm so sorry.. "

Aurora simply kissed him on the cheek, surprising him. He looked at her face to see her smiling at him.

 _I'll always be by your side. I know you have your secrets so I won't pry. But know this, Ryker, I love you and I will never stop loving you. Let me help you, let me help carry your burden. It's ok, Ryker. You can trust me just like I have complete trust in you._

She then saw something that she thought she will never see, ever. Something that nearly shattered her heart. Ryker was crying, crying tears of blood that showed his hidden pain that plagued him for many years. Aurora suddenly felt him bury his face into her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry. I should have told you all the truth. Right from the start I knew I could trust you but I couldn't bring myself to tell you anything about me. "

He continued on and on, blaming himself for all the pain he had caused on his friends as well as his lover. Aurora was dumbfounded but comforted him with soothing words and a few kisses here and there. This went on for a few more minutes and Ryker seemed to finally calm down and ceased crying. They sat there in silence all that was heard was their breathing but nothing else. Ryker suddenly asked Aurora if she wanted to know a bit about his family. Her shock was clear on her face.

 _Only if you're ok with it._ she replied.

Ryker gave her a small but pained smile but told her anyways.

"My mother was the very definition of, well, mother. She always smiled and told me many things about things like the inventions humans had created. She taught me how to talk, cook, made me memorize every helpful and dangerous plants or the like. She taught me how to draw and play musical instruments. I always thought that my family was lucky to have someone as loving and as great as she was. My dad loved and cared for us as well, but had trouble showing it sometimes. I guess I take after him a bit there. He taught me thirteen languages and how to be formal. He taught me every survival skill there was and taught me about the many dangers of the world. He was a great man."

Ryker then paused a gave another small smile.

"I also had a little brother. He was only a few years old at the time. I loved spending time with little Vulcan. His eyes always reminded of my mother's, as red as a ruby."

Ryker then surprised Aurora by hugging her tightly, this time giving her a somewhat happy smile.

"I moved on though. I know that they're in a better place. Nothing could replace them but at least I have you four to fight for. To protect.. I'm sorry for breaking down earlier, that wasn't me. You'll never see that again, I promise you." he finished.

Aurora hugged him and cuddled onto his chest. She looked at his face to see no trace of the previous tears. Even his eyes weren't red anymore.

"Let's get back to the others. I bet they're worried about you." he said suddenly.

 _Worried about US._ Aurora corrected.

"You think she's ok, Lady Arceus?" Ragna asked.

 _I honestly don't know. For all we know she could be reduced to less than ashes right now._

Saphira interrupted them.

 _Alp-er Ryker would never do that to her. I mean, they are a couple, right?_

The two looked at her, uncertainty plastered on their faces. Suddenly, Jeanne stood up and opened a portal.

 _I have to go and return to my duties. Notify me if anything happens... good luck to you all._

She went through the portal, leaving Ragna and Saphira alone. A few minutes passed, neither of them exchanged a word or thought. Suddenly, Ragna spoke up.

"Do you think I should leave? I screwed up pretty damn bad."

"No, you can stay, no harm done."

Ragna and Saphira turned around to see Ryker and Aurora walking towards them. Before getting a chance to say anything, Ryker lowered his head to Ragna, shocking everyone greatly.

"I'm sorry for being rude to you earlier. It was really disrespectful and uncalled for. I hope you can forgive me." Ryker announced.

Saphira tripped over what seems to be nothing and Aurora's jaw gaped. Ragna was beyond speechless. But he took Ryker's outstretched hand and shook it nervously, hoping to Arceus that he wasn't about to be thrown into a nearby pond. Ryker got up and gave a reassuring nod and spoke again.

"Will you still aid Aurora and I in our quest? It's understandable if you don't."

Ragna and Saphira were taken aback, not believing what had just happened. Still, Ragna answered.

"Of course, Ryker."

Ryker nodded and walked down the path.

"Oh, and I need you to do me a favor and call me "Alpha" in front of others." he explained with his back turned.

The others looked at each other and began to follow Ryker. Once they thought he was out of earshot, Ragna began speaking.

"So we fight, argue, I accidentally bring up his dead family and he asks me for an apology? What's up with that?" Aurora smiled and thought about the time Minnie the Queen told off Ryker. Ragna continued with an exhausted expression. "I guess I should have trusted him from the start. I hope he won't hold a grudge against me."

"Do not worry, I won't." Ryker announced from ahead.

Ragna tripped and Saphira chuckled while helping him up.

"Damn his hearing." Ragna mumbled earning a giggle from Aurora.

"Sometimes, I hear things I wish I never hear. So I guess sometimes good hearing is a bad thing." Ryker announced again, proving Ragna's point.

Unknown to Ragna and Saphira, Ryker was referring to when he heard their "activities" on the boat. Aurora blushed madly, rushing up to Ryker to scold him for revealing too much leaving Ragna and Saphira with confused expression. Then, Ragna got a dreading idea.

"You don't think they heard us on the boat, right? ... Shit."

 _Shit indeed._ Saphira replied while turning red underneath her scales.

 **Later**

There were following Ryker for another half hour or so until he suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" Ragna asked.

Ryker said nothing but his ears twitched from time to time. For a few minutes, nothing but silence transpired. Then, as sudden as he stopped, he started walking again.

"Well?" Ragna asked, clearly confused at Ryker's strange behavior.

"I heard something peculiar, but it turned out to be a Diglet or something along those lines digging underneath us. Nothing to worry about." he replied.

 _For a second there, I thought we were about to be attacked. So much for that._ Saphira remarked.

Aurora turned her head to the side to look at Ryker. She noted that he had significantly heightened senses even for a Knight. Though she didn't question him about it, knowing that it probably had to do with his own natural ability. She then slowed down when Ryker looked at his map. Saphira and Ragna caught up with her.

 _So, about Ryker,_ Aurora stated, _Arceus seemed to be quite knowing about him. What do you guys think?_

 _I trust him and all now, no doubt. But, Arceus seemed to talk about him as if he wasn't human._ Saphira replied.

Ragna piped up.

 _Same here, but about the whole "not human" thing, you can't really act like being a Knight, one of the Shadows and Flames I might add, is human-like. Though I am curious to how he and his family were born with those heightened senses and flame powers. Not to mention psychic ability as well._

Aurora was next, the look on her face was determined and confident.

 _Even so, Ryker is Ryker and we all trust him no matter what. That's the most important thing._

They continued to talk about him and his qualities. Unknown to them, Ryker hid a smile as they walked further down the path.

"For them, for you, for Aurora, I'll continue to fight. That I swear, Lady Arceus." he silently muttered.

 **Hall of Origins: Scrying Chamber**

Above them, Jeanne watched. She was slightly surprised that he had noticed her but waved it off.

 _It seems that I should be careful from now on._ she thought with a chuckle.

 _When will he reveal his secret? I'm sure you looked far into Fate._ a voice sounded from behind her.

Jeanne smiled and turned around to face her mate, an Arceus whose main type is Dark. This Arceus took care of the souls that make their way to the Distortion World to spend eternity with Giratina.

 _Fang will actually reveal his secret really soon, though, fate did not tell me how or how will his companions will react. Let's just hope things won't go dire, Darko, dear._

Darko nodded and nuzzled his mate who giggled at the action. He may not look it (he's very intimidating), but on the inside, he cares deeply for his loved ones and is actually a humorous guy... when he's not pissed .

They stayed like that for a while, not noticing that Ryker and the others had reached their destination.

 **Outside Mnt. Silver**

"So what should we do?" Ragna remarked.

They were currently at the base of Mnt. Silver, though the entrance to The Temple of Minerals was nowhere to be seen.

 _We should rest out here, it's getting late and we need our full strength for tomorrow._ Aurora chimed in.

 _She's right. Plus, it will be easier for us to find the entrance in daylight._ Saphira remarked. She looked at Ryker. _Even though some of us can see in the dark just fine._

Ryker shrugged and walked away from the mountain. Eventually, he led them to a clearing someways away from the mountain.

 **Time Skip: 2 Hours**

Ragna and Saphira were already asleep, Ragna hidden underneath one of her wings. Ryker was sitting in front of his fire pit, staring at the eery white fire for seemingly no reason. He was thinking about the day's events, from Ash's arrival all the way to the conversation he had with Aurora about Ragna and Saphira's time on the boat. After a few moments, his mind drifted and unconsciously leaned forward. Aurora, who was cleaning her forepaw, noticed this and took action.

 _Ryker? Ryker. RYKER!_

Ryker suddenly snapped out his trance with alarm. He then let out a small gasp of pain when his hand accidentally made contact with his fire.

"Argh. Damn it that hurt." he said under his breath.

Aurora rushed over to him in worry.

 _Are you alright? One moment I see you staring into your fire and the next you started to fall towards it! And I thought you were immune to fire?_

Ryker flinched as he heard the last statement. He nervously scratched the back of his head.

"It's true that I'm immune to fire just not my own. It's so hot, it will burn through anything including myself. No one else has fire as intense as mine though so you don't have to worry. But my fire burns according to my will, meaning I can control what it burns and what it doesn't. If I was focused earlier, I probably would've been unharmed. Thanks for snapping me out of it though." he explained quietly, considering the two sleeping beauties near him.

He took some of the fire and concentrated, lowering it to his burnt hand. As soon as they made contact, the fire pulsed through Ryker's hand, quickly healing it.

"If the fire burnt anyone else, there's no helping them." he added grimly.

Aurora then remembered Moldar, the Ditto, and how he burned to nothing when Ryker's dark-white flame imbued sword made contact with the enemy. Shaking her head, she pulled Ryker to their sleeping spot wordlessly. Ryker complied without arguing and lay down next to her, hugging her and putting his neck comfortably on her head.

"Aurora, do you think I'm a monster? Please answer truthfully, I need to know." he suddenly requested.

Aurora looked at him sternly, making him gulp with nervousness. So far, she was the only one who could do this to him when he normally kept his cool.

 _A monster is defined by cruel actions and greedy wishes. One who doesn't give two shits about the world around him and whatever happens in it or the people. You are not a monster, Ryker Fang. There's no way you could ever be one._ she told him angrily.

Ryker was really nervous since one: he never heard her curse before, two: she was really angry, and three: the glare she gave him froze him to the very core. Miffed, Aurora dug her face into the crook of his face, smacking him with one of her tails before going to sleep.

 _Idiot._

Ryker flinched at the comment and wondered if it was best to move away at the moment.

 _Instead of wondering if you should move away, why don't you wrap your arms around me and kiss me before going to sleep?_

Shocked but secretly happy, he did just that and went to sleep with an amused smile.

 _Sometimes I wonder who's really the alpha in our relationship._ he thought before passing out.

 **Temple of Minerals**

 _Not a monster, eh? We'll see about that once we finish giving you the most pain in your life. Guess what? I'm overseeing this oncoming battle. Why? I want to end you early!_ Darugas stated before laughing maniacally with the Knight of Minerals next to him as well as the rest of the possessed Knights.

Darugas looked at the scrying orb and directed his attention to Aurora.

 _Perfect._


	10. Chapter 10

**How did you like the last chapter? I thought that it cleared some things up a bit. Shout out to LigerHorse!**

 **So last time on Light In My Darkness, the group get off the boat and headed towards Mount Silver. On the way, they meet Ash, an Aura Prince and his partner, Pikachu. They chat about a few things for a bit but in the end, they went their separate ways. Later, Ragna gets fed up with Ryker keeping secrets like his name and the like and demanded that Ryker tell them everything. They get into an argument that ended up with them finding out his family's slaughter and how his homeland got wiped out...by him. He leaves and Arceus soon appears and told them about his past. Aurora managed to get Ryker back with them and Ragna made up with him. At the end, Ryker has doubts about himself that were immediately pushed away by Aurora. Story time.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**

 **Chapter 9: A Glimpse At The Alpha**

The group had woken up early that morning and they easily found the door to the Temple. Ragna felt uneasy and voiced his anxiety.

"Hey guys? I'm getting a VERY bad feeling about this place."

Saphira drew their attention by audibly chattering her teeth out of fear. Aurora was getting bad vibes as well. The only one who wasn't fazed at least visibly was Ryker.

"ALL of them are here." he stated.

"WHAAAAAT! But why?! Why gang up on us now?" Ragna exclaimed.

"We probably were underestimated by them and they most likely decided to get rid of us before we become too much of a threat." Ryker replied in monotone. They looked at him incredulously only to see that he was deadly serious. Ryker continued. "Look, there is absolutely no way we can prepare for this so it's understandable if any of you want to back out now. It's probably safer to do that, though, I won't be following you since I will be inside."

He turned to see Aurora giving him a determined look. He looked at Ragna who took a deep breath while he comforted Saphira.

"I'm a Knight. I can't back down from this. We all won't, we'll stick by you to the very end."

 _Agreed._ Saphira added, finally calmed down.

Ryker gave them all a rare smile and turned serious as he opened the large set of double doors, instantly feeling the evil aura emanating from within. They stepped inside and immediately the doors closed behind them.

The whole room was pitch black until multiple sets of torches were lit along the wall, illuminating the large circular room. Suddenly, Aurora screamed as she was yanked away by a transparent purple chain.

"Aurora!" Ryker exclaimed.

 _Heeeeelp!_

She was pulled to the other end of the room, revealing the culprit. Darugas was holding the other end of the chain and was surrounded by the rest of the possessed Knights. Ryker let out a low menacing snarl and Darugas had a sadistic grin on his face.

" _Well look at who's here, my companions. It's the famous Alpha and his merry band of failures."_

Saphira growled at the comment and Ragna stepped forward with a scowl.

"What are _YOU_ doing here, Darugas! Only The Knight of Minerals is supposed to be here!"

" _Surprised? I decided to get rid of all of you early. The four of you are too much of a thorn in my side."_ Darugas shifted his position to a sitting one. " _I'm going to give you all a chance to surrender. If you accept, your deaths will be quick and painless. However, should you attack…"_

Darugas looked at Aurora and smiled. She suddenly screamed in pain as barbed extensions from the whip sank into her sides. At that moment, something inside of Ryker lost control. making his aura spread throughout the area. Saphira and Ragna leaped back as a wall of black fire rose from the ground, cutting them off from Ryker and their enemies. Darugas turned to see what was the source of the sudden heat only to find nothing. He noticed Ragna and Saphira looking around as well, as if they were looking for something.

" _Where is -"_ Darugas began but was cut off by the sound of his whip snapping. He quickly turned only to see that his captive was gone, her bonds broken beyond repair.

"Whoa!" Ragna exclaimed as Ryker and Aurora suddenly appeared in front of him.

Ryker set down Aurora on the floor gently, rage showing through his eyes. Saphira was all of the sudden afraid of him as well as Ragna.

"Take care of her." Ryker stated before disappearing and reappearing on the other side of the flame wall.

Aurora looked at Ryker whose back was turned, worry and concern as well as wonder coursed through her veins.

 _Ryker? What are yo-_

Suddenly, Ryker summoned his armor and sword and blocked Darugas's battle-axe.

" _I will make sure all of you feel endless pain! Knights, ATTACK THE ALPHA!" Darugas_ shouted.

All of the remaining possessed Knights leapt from their spots and drew their weapons and aimed them directly at Ryker who stood unmoving. His three friends gasped not a second later.

The Knights had hit their mark.

Ryker stood there, blood pouring from the numerous stab wounds and punctures on his sides and shoulders. He then spoke in his native language, everyone in the area somehow understood the words.

" **I will show you no mercy."**

A sudden blast of dark aura emitted from Ryker, cutting up the Knights into several pieces and incinerating their remains. Darugas stepped back in fear, scared out of his wits. Auroras and the others stepped back as well, sensing the murderous intent from Ryker.

 _This isn't like him._ Saphira remarked.

Darugas regained his composure and put on a brave face.

 _"I didn't think you were that powerful. No matter, those Knights were small fry, pawns that failed to be of use to me. However, don't think I will be as weak!"_

Darugas charged forward, swinging his large battle-axe at Ryker. Ryker didn't move and the others gasped as Darugas connected.

 _"Too slow, weakling."_ Darugas announced.

As soon as he said that, what seemed to be Ryker disappeared in a cloud of darkness.

 _"WHAT!"_ his foe bellowed.

He was cut off as Ryker suddenly reappeared and struck Darugas from behind. A splash of blood erupted from Darugas's neck, spraying the floor below.

 _"Aargh! Damn you!"_ the Knight exclaimed, leaping to the side as Ryker withdrew his armored hand.

Blood dripped off the claw-like gauntlet as Ryker slowly walked towards his enemy.

 **"Blood isn't enough, you must perish."** Ryker announced, flicking the rest of the blood off his gauntlet with a twitch like movement.

"What language is he speaking?" Ragna inquired in a small voice.

 _It's probably his native language. By the sounds of it, it's like a mix of Greek and growling or snarls. I don't think the people of Zenith spoke this language._ Aurora stated.

The armored Knight of Shadows and Flames readied his sword and at the sight, Darugas flinched.

 _"That sword has tasted much blood, it's nothing I have ever seen before."_ Darugas remarked.

At this, Ryker let out a humorless smile, one that sent chills down the backs of everyone present. He lifted his sword with its serrated edges facing to the sides. His expression darkened and his smiled disappeared.

 **"My fang has never failed to fell an enemy before. It burns with my will, slashes with the shadows of my soul, and represents as an extension of me."** Ryker pointed his sword towards Darugas, said person shivered as he heard a snarl escape from Ryker. **"Now, I will stop at nothing to kill you. Your fate was sealed the moment you laid hands on her."** he gestured his free hand at Aurora who perked up at the mention of her.

Darugas sneered and suddenly charged at Ryker, screaming all the way.

 _"As if you can beat me, Fen-!"_ he began.

Darugas was cut off again as Ryker's hand found its way around the Gengar's throat. He pulled Darugas closer and tightened his grip.

 **"You think I will allow you to spill my secret?"** he said in a low grabbed Ryker's arms, aiming to force him to release his grip. However, Darugas soon noticed that it was futile and tried to mentally attack Ryker in darkly laughed as Darugas tried over and over again. **"I don't think so. Try as you will but my mental defenses far surpasses yours."** Ryker stated.

He let go of Darugas and followed it with a punch to the gut which sent Darugas reeling in pain. Before Darugas can do anything, Ryker grabbed the Gengar by the head and kneed him in the nose, effectively breaking it. Aurora tried to make sense of the situation.

 _Why is he suddenly so brutal with his attacks? Is this the real Ryker?_

Darugas, who was getting up after falling to the floor, readied his battle-axe with much difficulty.

 _It's a wonder that Ryker's last attack didn't drive the bone in Darugas's nose straight into the brain._ Saphira noted to herself.

Darugas looked around, trying to find a way out of the situation. He spotted Aurora past the firewall and a plan materialised in his head.

 _"You shouldn't leave your weakness out in the open!"_ he bellowed, as he fired a single blood red beam towards Aurora, who tensed, knowing that she wouldn't be able to dodge fast enough. The pain didn't come however and she looked up, confused. Ryker was in front of her, a hole in his shoulder as he got up from his shielding position.

 _Ryker, I- I-_ she started.

Ryker simply raised a gentle hand at her, and let out another growl at his opponent.

 **"I was going to give you a quick and painless death, but after that stunt you pulled... I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER."** Ryker announced, pitch black flames erupted from his sword, shadows wrapping around it as well.

Aurora gasped as she saw Ryker's hair turn from silver to all the way black. Black tribal lines appeared on his face which ended in points that pointed towards the center of his face (so think two tattoo-like lines pointing towards the center of his face, one on each side). Her shock increased even further as a second sword materialised in Ryker's right hand, identical and radiating the same dark power as the sword in his left hand.

Ryker took a step forward, leaving black-flamed (his flames now all black) footsteps in his wake. The shadows in the room danced wildly as he did so.

 **"With both my left and my right Fangs, I shall make you non-existent."** _Ryker growled._

He suddenly reappeared behind Darugas and stabbed said person through the stomach with a sword. Darugas immediately screamed in pain as the flesh that is making contact with the sword burned and tore apart by the serrated edges and the shadows emitted. Ryker took his other sword and made a clean cleave through Darugas's left arm. The arm fell towards the floor and disappeared when Ryker's black flames and shadows devoured it.

Ryker's friends were not believing what they were seeing. There was so much bloodshed and Ryker remained emotionless the entire while. Darugas screamed as pain finally registered in his mind. He kicked away from Ryker and landed a few feet away, tending to what is now a stub that was spurting dark red blood everywhere behind him. Darugas did his best but failed to stop the bleeding. Suddenly, Ryker was directly in front of him, a hand was outstretched.

 **"Let me help you with that."** Ryker stated.

Darugas screamed in agony as Ryker cauterized the wound with a grim smile. A few seconds later, Darugas looked up at Ryker and sneered at him.

 _"This may be painful but this is nothing compared to how I died before becoming a Gengar. Guess what? My intestines were pulled out of me one by one while I was conscious and that was the most painful experience ever! Don't think I'm fazed from this, bastard!"_

Ryker stopped and suddenly let out a humorless laugh, one of which made the others shiver in fear. After his mirth returned, the smile on his face disappeared and his face darkened even further.

 **"Let me show you true pain. The pain of those who were murdered in your stead multiplied a hundred-fold! SUFFER!"**

At first nothing happened, making the others question his sanity. But Ryker was staring directly into Darugas's, eyes. Ryker's pupils suddenly became darker than the black color they already were before. All of the sudden, Darugas howled in extreme sorrow and pain, his scream completely worse compared to his other painful screams. Black flames erupted from Darugas's eyes and his insides were suddenly visible to the others through his skin.

 **Darugas's POV**

 _Darugas looked around, seeing nothing but a black void. He walked a further ways down. He suddenly felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Slowly, he turned around to face a woman. He instantly recognized her as someone he murdered many years before. But, her form was ethereal and she had no eyes. What he was looking at now was her soul._

 _The souls suddenly moaned in sorrow as it brandished a knife. Darugas was frozen, flushable to move for some inexplicable reason. The soul took the knife and slowly cut along Darugas's throat, from underneath the jaw to a bit above the collarbone. Darugas tried to scream but found that he couldn't. All he could do was to watch the soul do its work. The soul withdrew the knife and bit into his neck tearing away at the flesh._

 _To Darugas, the pain was indescribable but he couldn't even close his eyes. The worst thing was that everything was deathly silent. The soul continued to tear way at his neck and did everything in a slow painful matter. Suddenly, the soul vanished and Darugas's wounds were healed. However, he still felt the pain in his neck._

 _Another soul appeared in front of him handle it took the form of a little boy. The soul walked up to Darugas and sank his teeth into Darugas's stomach. He tore into it and plunged his hand into Darugas. The soul felt around in Darugas's stomach and seemed to find his target. He suddenly pulled out a kidney, threw it on the transparent floor and stepped on it. After a few moments, the soul of the little boy disappeared._

 _Another soul materialised. This one had the form of an old man and in his hand, was a crude fishing hook. The soul took the hook and raked it across Darugas left cheek and ended up taking off an ear. Then, the soul took the hook and hooked it into one of Darugas's eyes. The souls slowly pulled. Slowly, but surely, Darugas's left eye was pulled out and left hanging from its socket. The soul took the fishing in one swing, tore through the fibers that connected his eyes to his socket. The eye fell to the floor and the soul disappeared, the wounds inflicted on Darugas started to heal up._

 _In what seemed to be many years, thousands of souls had their way with Darugas. Each of them were killed by him in one way or another._

 **Back to the Others**

Ryker dropped Darugas and let out a low growl. Darugas's eyes were now ashy-grey, little tongues of black flames danced in many dried cracks in his now coal-like eyes. The wall of flame Ryker had summoned died down and the others slowly made their way to Ryker. Aurora took one look at Darugas and gasped. She backed up and looked at Ryker.

 _What did you do to him?_ she asked.

Ryker gave her a dark look and spoke normally again.

"I made him experience the same exact pain and situation of all those he had killed in the past, their pain multiplied by at least a hundred. He cannot move a single muscle or use his vocal chords. For example, if he killed someone by stabbing them in the back, that soul of the victim has the choice to do the same exact thing to him. If not, the soul will disappear and another victim will take its place with the same choice until Darugas has gone through the souls of every single person he killed. To him, it will take years to go through all the souls of those he killed. To us, it will take a mere minute. Now, all of his organs and insides save for his bones are now burned away to less than ash. He will die and his soul will be burnt up by my power. He will neither go to hell nor heaven but, his existence will be forever be erased by me." he informed in a dark voice.

The others gasped at his words and looked at Darugas who was no longer breathing. Aurora took a step back as Ryker motioned them to. Ragna and Saphira immediately complied as well. They looked at Ryker whose eyes briefly showed intense anger as he held out his hand towards the corpse below him. Darugas's body and all the other dead again Knights lit up and were devoured by his flames. Eventually, there was nothing else in the room except Ryker and the others.

Darugas's words still lingered in Ryker's head. He tried to banish them but failed miserably.

 _Nothing but a monster..._

Monster. That word plagued his mind like no other.

 _That's right. I am and will forever be a monster._ Ryker to him, Aurora saw through his emotionless mask and saw pain in his eyes. She walked up to him and nudged his hand with her paw. Ryker barely registered her in his mind. _That's right. I have to use these monstrous powers of mine to protect her. To protect Aurora, Jeanne, Ragna, and Saphira, Balto, and the others._ he thought.

Aurora nudged him again, a little harder this time.

 _Ryker, we need to patch up your wounds. They're still bleeding profusely...Ryker!_

Ryker broke away from his thoughts and looked at her. Aurora's eyes widened in shock as he gave her another rare genuine smile. He also gave Ragna and Saphira a thumbs up. The two gave him a smile and Aurora chuckled as she shook her head.

They began to walk towards the large set of double doors. Ryker took one last look at the chamber behind him and finally, closed the door.

 **Hall of Origins**

Arceus stepped away from the scrying orb and began to walk, or float, down a corridor.

 _He nearly transformed in all that rage. If he did, the battle would be over immediately and the whole area would have been decimated. Though, it seems Darugas was right about one thing._

She turned a corner and came to a stop in a chamber full of statues of past heroes and legendaries. She smiled as she looked over them, remembering each and every one of them and their deeds. She closed her eyes and started to relax a bit.

 _If anything, Aurora is truly Ryker's weakness._

 **Back to the Others**

It was night and the group was settled around the campfire. Ragna was chewing on a Pidgeot leg and Saphira was staring at the stars, one of her wings wrapped around Ragna. Ryker was leaning against a tree and was staring at the fire. Aurora was happily sleeping on his chest, her muzzle on the crook of his neck. Ryker directed his attention to her mane and started stroking it softly, careful as to prevent waking up Aurora.

 _I wonder what they think of me now. Do they still trust me? Do they fear me? Do they think I'm a monster?_

His head shot up as another mind nudged his for permission to enter. He recognized it as Saphira's and lowered his mental barrier.

 _Do not worry Ryker. We still believe that you are the same caring and helpful person who'd go out of his way to help._ Saphira remarked as she correctly guessed his thoughts.

Ryker gave her a thankful look and in return, she happily nodded. Soon though, she groaned in annoyance as she realized Ragna already finished eating and was currently resting on her warm scaled belly.

 _This man *sigh* is sooo childish sometimes. But I still love him immensely._

She wrapped her wing around Ragna's body like a blanket and curled her body around him. She gave Ryker a final look.

 _Sleep. You literally took care of all the Knights for us and prevented us from being hurt. Plus, you were pretty beat up earlier. Rest Ryker..._

She finally nodded off to sleep and left Ryker to contemplate his own thoughts. He looked at himself. All of his wounds had already healed and the scent of blood no longer lingered on his hands. Ryker sighed and looked up at the sky. For a minute or so, he did nothing but note the many constellations in the sky. Finally, he felt himself getting tired and closed his eyes, a small smile found its way on his face.

Then next morning, Aurora woke to find that Ryker wasn't there. Instead, his jacket was folded and placed underneath her. She got up and stretched her muscles. She looked around the campsite and saw Ragna and Saphira sitting comfortably together, Ragna was happily polishing the white dragon's scales.

 _Ryker probably went off to train again like he does every morning._ she thought. She looked at his jacket and gave a small smile. _To get up, leave a jacket underneath me, and leave without waking me up or making me lose my comfortable position is impressive._

Deciding to go for a run, she trudged off to the forest. After a few moments, she sped into an all-out sprint, easily surpassing the speed of a bullet train. After a few minutes, she took to the skies, flying at a speed that would make fighter jets seem like turtles. She smiled to herself as she felt the wind under her wings and the sun on her back. Suddenly, her head snapped to the surface below her when she saw a black blur speed across the forest towards the campsite. Its speed easily surpassed hers! She tried to identify it by scent or mind and found that she couldn't. The blur was obviously blocking its presence to everything in the area masterfully. Concerned for the safety of her friends, she soared after it, giving chase.

 **Blur**

 _She must have noticed me. Either she impressively sensed my presence or she merely saw me by accident. Most likely the latter._ The blur looked ahead, seeing a large mass of trees and a path that was dimly lit. _I'll lose her here._

 **Normal POV**

Aurora tried to follow the blur but soon lost sight of it. She turned around and retraced her steps but found no evidence to where it could have gone.

 _I just hope it isn't a danger to us. Better, I hope I was imagining things._ she thought to herself. She landed in the campsite and found that Ragna and Saphira already packed everything. _Need help?_ she asked.

"No, we're fine. Have you seen Ryker?" Ragna replied.

 _I haven't since I woke up._

"He's probably coming back right n-"

The bushes to their left rustled and coincidently, Ryker emerged from the foliage. He was stretching his arms as he walked over to them.

"Morning." He simply stated.

 _Morning!_ Aurora told him with a hug.

Ryker chuckled as he hugged her back, giving Ragna a "I dare you to comment on my unusual behavior." look. Ragna nervously chuckled as he finished packing up the supplies. He thought to himself as he did so.

 _You know, he never laughs or smiles around us, let alone talk. But once Aurora talks to him or something along those lines, he brightens up. I guess she just really makes his day._

Ryker walked over and picked up his jacket and donned it in one motion. He then picked up his pack and faced Ragna and the others.

"Where to?"

Ragna shrugged his shoulders and Saphira gave a similar expression. Aurora walked up to Ryker and gestured to the sky.

 _I guess we should report to Lady Arceus at the Hall of Origins._

Ryker nodded and looked at the other two who nodded in agreement. He raised his left hand and suddenly, a black portal appeared directly in the spot where the campfire used to be. He walked in and the others soon followed.

 **The Hall of Origins**

 _Thank you all for preventing the possible destruction of this world. I am also glad that you all made it back safely._ Arceus stated.

Ragna, Saphira, and Aurora bowed but Ryker simply nodded. Ryker walked up to Arceus and gave her the signal for a private conversation. She noticed and soon, the others were blocked out.

 _What do you need, Fang?_

 _Tomorrow, I plan to leave for a while to train by myself._

 _You mean that you're going to that island correct? The one abandoned by humans?_

 _Correct._

 _For what purpose? Why now?_

 _I allowed Lady Islingr Suicune to get hurt yesterday. I failed her and myself. I plan to get stronger and faster in order to protect not only her, but the others including you._

 _..._

 _Milady?_

 _And what about the others? Will they be fine with your decision?_

 _Most likely not, it may take some major convincing. Either way, I'm leaving whether they like it or not._

 _How long do you think you will be gone?_

 _Two months. Four at the most. I'll come right back afterwards to accompany them._

 _I don't think Lady Islingr Suicune would take this lightly. She could probably prevent me from allowing you to leave like that._

 _I know. I plan to have a long talk with her about this. I will have the rest of the day today to spend time with her before leaving tomorrow._

 _... You really love her, don't you?_

 _Of course, Milady. Do you disapprove of it?_

 _Heavens no! I actually think she's what best for you and vice versa._

 _I'm glad that you have no problems with this, Milady._

 _Of course not._

They turned back to the others who were wondering why they had been blocked out.

"What were you two talking about?" Ragna asked.

"Personal matters." Ryker replied.

Ragna nodded and gave a small yawn. He grabbed Saphira by her wing and made his way down a corridor.

"We'll be in our chambers to rest if you don't mind, Lady Arceus."

 _I have no problem of , I don't want you to get lazy on me._

"Wouldn't dream of it."

And with that, he and Saphira waved them goodbye and left the scene. Arceus returned her attention to our heroes and bowed.

 _I'm afraid have some important matters to attend to. I bid you two a good day and if you have the need to go on another quest, feel free to ask me._

Ryker and Aurora nodded and Arceus soon left as well, leaving the two off them alone. Deoxys soon appeared and sneered at Aurora.

 _Hello, mate-to-be, how is your day?_

At this, Aurora growled, the temperature in the area soon dropped to below zero.

 _Leave me alone Deoxys. I do not have time to waste with you. Go play with meteors or something._

 _Feisty are we? I like that._

Deoxys chuckled and seemed to finally notice Ryker who placed his hand on Aurora's shoulder, immediately calming her. Deoxys's smile died as he felt Ryker's aura.

 _Who are you human? Another petty Knight?_

Ryker didn't even look at Deoxys (which annoyed the legendary greatly) as he continued to calm Aurora.

"Look, Deoxys, I do not want to have a quarrel with you. All I ask is that you treat Lady Islingr Suicune with utmost respect like you would want for yourself." Ryker stated.

At this, Deoxys grew furious and stepped forward.

 _Don't you tell me what to do, human! And that's LORD Deoxys to you, by the way._

Ryker shrugged as if saying, "I don't care."

Not wanting the black haired person get to him, Deoxys calmed down and walked past Aurora. At the last moment, when he thought they weren't looking, he attempted to slap Aurora's rump.

Deoxys screamed.

His hand that was a tentacle was burning beyond belief. He looked up to see Ryker, who still trying to calm Aurora, with his hand on Deoxys's. Aurora turned around and widened her eyes at the sight.

Ryker finally turned around and gave Deoxys an intense stare.

"What were you attempting to do?"

 _N-n-nothing!_

"Speak the truth or you will lose this disgusting thing of an arm!" Ryker warned.

 _F-f-fine! I was trying to slap her ass, alright? Can't blame me for being a guy! Besides, what do you care?_

The air immediately dropped even more and Deoxys was shivering, unused to this temperature. He turned to Aurora who had a murderous look in her eyes. Without warning, she charged a mini **Hyper Beam** and blasted it at Deoxys. The attack hit its mark and Deoxys was immediately thrown back against the wall, a piece of his metallic face fell away.

Deoxys groaned and reached up to feel his face only to find that the bottom half completely missing. Aurora walked up to him, her fury subsiding a bit.

 _There, now you have a mouth. Now, I advise you to shut up and never treat me in that manner again or next time, I won't even look at or warn you. I'll just give you frostbite._

Deoxys was seething with anger and humiliation. He suddenly charged at Aurora who was completely unconcerned.

Deoxys screamed again.

Ryker grabbed Deoxys by the arm and threw him at a wall. Without losing pace, he walked over and punched Deoxys in the chest. Deoxys groaned and coughed up some blood as one of his ribs caved in and punctured his lung.

Ryker wasn't done.

He picked up Deoxys by the throat and with another hand, grabbed hold of Deoxys's arm. With a single tug, he tore Deoxys's arm away and threw the tentacles to the floor with disgust. Deoxys screamed in pain and immediately passed out. Ryker dropped him and walked over to Aurora who gave him a hug.

 _Thanks for standing up for me, love._

"No problem, dear. I'll always protect you." he replied.

Ryker summoned another portal and together, they walked into it. Unknown to them, a few legendaries had witnessed the entire scene.

Keldeo, Manaphy, and Xerneas all had incredulous looks upon their faces. Keldeo was the first one to speak.

 _Holy Shit!_

 _Indeed._ Xerneas added.

 _Should we help him?_ Manaphy asked.

She looked at the deer and the colt, both shook their heads in response to her question.

 _Too bad for him._ she thought.

 **Jeanne's chambers**

Jeanne flopped onto her bed and stretched her forelegs, exhausted from her meeting with the Aura Guardians. She perked up when her mate entered the room, chuckling quietly to himself.

 _What's so funny?_ she asked.

Darko lowered himself next to her and gently massaged her shoulder, earning a sigh of delight from his mate.

 _I heard from Lady Xerneas that Lord Deoxys is immobile at the moment._

Jeanne looked at Darko with a questioning look. Her mate didn't look that much different than her. His fur was black where it should have been white and the ring around his body was black as well. His eyes, however, were red with black irises. Apparently, when he was born, a Dread plate had somehow merged with his body and his type became permanently **Dark**.

Darko leaned his neck on her head with his head atop of hers.

 _What happened?_ she asked.

 _From what I heard, Lord Deoxys picked a fight with Lady Islingr Suicune and tried to sexually harass her. When he tried to do so, Fang intervened and ended up burning his wrist. Then, Lady Islingr Suicune fired a close range_ _ **Hyper Beam**_ _and effectively made a mouth for Lord Deoxys to talk with. He tried to attack her back but Fang flipped him, lifted him from the floor, and tore off his arm, or arms. Oh, and Lady Islingr Suicune threatened to give frostbite to Lord Deoxys._

Jeanne sat there, looking at him incredulously, and gave a small chuckle.

 _He deserves more than that. He was going after her for years though never succeeded. How is he?_

Darko nipped her ear lightly, earning a giggle from the female Arceus.

 _He'll survive but the legendaries who could heal are refusing to help him._

 **Port**

Ryker gave the captain a slight nod before renting the boat with Aurora. He looked at his watch which read 8:50 a.m. and led Aurora to their room. Aurora immediately leapt on the bed and stretched. She gave a small smile but it quickly disappeared after seeing Ryker's expression.

 _Is there something wrong?_ she worried.

Ryker walked up to her and sat down, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close.

"I have to talk to you about something important." Ryker stated.

Before she got to say anything, Ryker continued on.

"Tomorrow, I'm leaving to go train. I'm going to be g-"

 _What! Why? You are already strong to me and I don't see why you have to go._

"Let me explain." he announced, raising a hand in defense. He went on.

"I'm going to be gone for two days. The reason why is that I need to improve on my mentality, not that I'm going crazy or anything, mind you, and work on expanding my range of sensing other presences."

 _... So you're going to be gone for two days?_

"Well, to you, it's going to seem like two days."

Aurora gave him a look with a cocked eyebrow.

 _I don't understand. What do you mean by that?_

Ryker sighed and lowered himself onto the bed, Aurora joining him soon after afterwards.

"I will be going to go to an abandoned island. One of which no human has ever been to or discovered for the last two centuries or so. On that island is a forest with a cave deep in the foliage. I plan to go to that cave and sleep. When I do, my mind will enter a dimension of my own that I created specifically for training. One day out here will be three months in there. I'm planning to stay in that dimension for half a year."

He looked at Aurora who was shocked beyond belief. He sensed her confusion and quickly answered her unasked question.

"I will not age, physically nor mentally, my body won't change whatsoever, but I will possibly get wiser and more aware than I already am."

Aurora thought to herself for a moment before returning to the conversation.

 _And you're going to come back the same Ryker?_

Ryker frowned but gave a small smile.

"Nothing will change, promise. If anything, I will probably be more, uh, social."

Aurora chuckled and leaned her head against his stomach, nearly squealing out loud when she felt his abs.

 _I love you just the way you are, Ryker. Never forget that._

Ryker flinched, and got nervous. He had just remembered something else.

"Wait, I misinformed you. I'm actually to be gone for a month. After training in my special dimension will be actual physical training."

He quickly became even more nervous when he saw some cold mist enveloping the room. Aurora turned around and looked at him, clearly infuriated.

 _What?_

Ryker held out both hands, hoping she wouldn't freeze him on the spot.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. I'm planning to spend the rest of today with you! And I also changed our course so now we're heading to Cerulean City!"

Aurora calmed down in an instant and rested her head atop Ryker's chest.

 _You're. Lucky._

Ryker let out a sigh of relief and relaxed a bit.

 _Dodged a freezing bullet there._ he thought.

An hour later, they reached Cerulean City and Ryker led Aurora to a resort where humans and pokemon alike hang out.

 _You know,_ Aurora began, _I live in a hidden cave at Cerulean Cape._

Ryker paid the woman standing behind a counter and continued walking down the path with Aurora.

"Really?" he asked.

 _Uh huh. No one ever saw me there._

"Funny, our date is supposed to lead us there."

Aurora looked at him.

 _Date?_

"This is my first so tell me if I'm doing anything wrong."

Aurora nodded with a giggle and looked ahead where the ocean awaited them. She thought to herself happily.

 _I really don't see how this is his first considering his looks._

They found the changing area and Ryker found an empty stall. Aurora nudged him on his way inside.

 _Don't worry, this is my first too. I'm certain our date will turn out perfectly._

"Your first date? And you're so beautiful...any male pokemon or legendary you know who think otherwise are truly idiots. I'm lucky that you're willing to give me a chance." he replied.

He shut the door and began to undress. Unknown to him, Aurora was blushing madly to his last comment. Though, at the same time, she was ecstatic that he actually admitted that out loud to her with full confidence and sincerity. A few moments later, he came out donned in a pair of swimming shorts. Without any warning, Aurora reared onto her hind legs, placed her fore legs on his shoulders, and gave him a kiss. Ryker, completely surprised, fell back and tripped onto the bench inside the changing room as Aurora landed on all fours.

 _Come on love,_ she said whilst giggling happily, _the beach is waiting for us._

She walked off and Ryker followed her, shaking his head and gave a small smile.

 _A barrel of laughs._ he thought.

They walked onto the beach and Ryker quickly found an unoccupied spot. He placed a brand-new large towel that he had bought and stretched. Aurora laid down on the towel and looked at Ryker. She immediately noticed the shine on his muscles and pecs and the sheen on his amazing eight pack. Then, she noticed that the black lines on his face actually trailed down the back of his neck in one large line to his shoulders. The line branched at the shoulders and one large line was on each of his pectoral pointing towards his lower chest. They trailed to his sides, branching off at every, well, pack and pointed towards the center of his body. They even trailed down to his legs, one line on each though branching slightly into two on each foot stopping right before the toes. The same could be said to the ones on his arms that also branched into two right before reaching his fingers. There was no lines on the undersides if his arms (meaning no lines on his palm and such) nor on the insides of his legs (no lines on the left side of his right leg and no lines on the right side of his left leg). All of the tribal lines were all connected into one large one that began at the base of the back of his neck and ended right before reaching his bottom. All of the lines ended in a sharp point. Aurora also noticed that his hair was black though his eyes remained the same.

 _What happened with your body?_ she asked.

Ryker understood what she meant and answered.

"In the heat of the battle, I guess my power increased so suddenly to the point where these markings and my true hair color became visible. I usually keep them hidden because of the attention it draws but now I don't really care anymore. People will most likely dismiss it as tattoos."

Aurora nodded and noticed that her lover began putting on sunscreen.

 _Need help with your back?_

"Please?" Ryker replied.

Aurora used her powers of water and since sunscreen was liquid, she could manipulate it. She helped him spread it on his back and eventually, they finished.

"Thank you." Ryker said.

 _No problem, don't want you to get sunburn now, do we?_

He smiled and sat down next to her.

"The sunscreen should be done in about half an hour. If you want, you can go in the water already without me and have fun while I wait." he told her.

 _No, I'll wait until you're ready as well._ she replied.

 _By the way,_ she added, _what are those lines for?_

Ryker shifted, uncomfortable, though Aurora didn't notice it.

"Well, each person of my kind has their own specific pattern of lines. However, each family has their own color of lines. For example, the rest of my family had black lines like me. Though, their patterns differed. Also, there isn't a single incident where two different families had the same color. If two families were to join, the color can be either but in different shades depending on the color of the lines of the parents."

It finally ticked when Aurora realized that she made him bring up his family. Though, the look that Ryker gave her told her it was ok.

They waited for about a half hour and Ryker got up with a hand gestured towards the sea.

"Shall we go, my queen?" he asked whilst bowing.

Aurora giggled and lifted her head high, her waltz and expression regal.

 _We shall, my knight._


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry about the late updates, the server wouldn't let me in these past couple of days. BUT! Very tired, guys. This chapter is actually 53 pages long...yeah, expect long chapters from now on. Shout out to the unsung antihero!**

 **Last chapter, Ryker and Aurora went on their first date. They ate at a restaurant and Ryker found out she has an anthromorphic form. They watched a movie nearby and also sang some karaoke. They had a little disagreement at the end but it all ended well when they ate their dinner. Ryker and Aurora share their moments together at Cerulean Cape and Ryker eventually left. Ryker was determined to get stronger again and Aurora was determined to do the same.**

 **Chapter 11: Delays and Fights**

 **Hall of Origins**

It has been three days since Aurora and Ryker separated and Aurora was really getting into her training. Everyday, she would run laps aiming for a faster time each time, she would spar with her brothers for hours at a time, she would also fly around the area with weights attached to her wings. Aurora landed after a while and took off her weights. Jeanne approached her and gave a small smile.

 _I can see that you're already getting stronger. You do know that you're already stronger than the rest of the legendaries here?_ Jeanne remarked.

Aurora looked up at her leader with a small smile of her own. She stretched her muscles and wings before giving answer.

 _For some reason, that's not enough._ Aurora replied.

Aurora walked down a corridor and Jeanne followed close behind. All Aurora thought about at the time was Ryker and getting stronger. Those were the two dominant thoughts in her head in the past three days. They walked for a bit longer until suddenly, Princess (Mew) floated up to them in a panic.

 _Help! Help! Please help me!_ the small pink cat cried.

She dug her face into Aurora's mane and bawled while Aurora tried to comfort her. Jeanne floated up to the Mew and poked her in the back.

 _Lady Mew, what happened to cause you so much stress?_

Princess looked up with puffy red eyes. She sniffed and told them her predicament.

 _It's Mewtron (mewtwo), he left the other day and never back! I went out to look for him at Mnt. Pyre but all I found was this..._

She teleported something purple and bloodied into her hand. Jeanne and Aurora were beyond shocked at the sight.

It was Mewtron's ear.

Princess broke down again and sobbed. Aurora looked at the ear and wondered who or what could ever do such a thing. She noticed that the ear had a red aura surrounding it, an aura filled with so much evil.

 _Lady Arceus, do you see that or am I imagining things?_ Aurora asked.

Jeanne nodded and lifted up Princess psychically.

 _I really hope that what I'm thinking of won't turn out to be true. Lady Islingr Suicune, continue to go on about your day. I will comfort Lady Mew here and when she's ready, we'll look for Lord Mewtwo._

Aurora nodded and left the scene, erratic thoughts filled her mind as she left the Hall of Origins to hunt.

 _Whoever did this will pay and I will make sure they will know pain. she thought._

 **One month later..**

Aurora fired an **Ice Beam** at Celebi, freezing her on contact. The grass type tried to break free but failed. Instead, she used **Magical Leaf** to ward off Aurora to buy time. Aurora merely froze and shattered the leaves in midair and pounced on Celebi.

Celebi screamed.

Aurora was tickling her with a tail in her most ticklish of spots. Celebi was dying from laughter and eventually, Aurora stopped letting the poor legendary free. Celebi pouted.

 _You know,_ she began, _I wouldn't have lost if you didn't evolve again and your tails weren't ribbon like._

Aurora gave a small sigh in amusement and shrugged. Celebi looked the Islingr Suicune over. Sometime last week, Aurora went through another stage after training so hard and became stronger, and, much, much, more beautiful.

Aurora's tails were ribbon-like again but this time, they had dry ice shards protruding out at angles from the tip to all the way stopping short of the base. Her wings were still angelic but every two feathers, there was a shard of dry ice in its place. Her dark blue mane had light blue streaks of glacial power lining it and her crest was studded with dry ice as well. Her fore legs protruded large dry ice shards, one on each arm on each elbow, that looked like they could cut through Registeel like butter. The same goes for the ones on her hind legs but they protruded from her knees. Each of her claws were translucent and were made of dry ice and the diamond patterns in her body were outlined which was thinly outlined by blue. On her fore legs and hind legs were thick streaks of glacier power like her mane, one streak on each leg each from her paws and all meeting together at the base of her neck. Ryker's birthday gifts to her, the necklace, tail bracelets, and ankle bracelets, were still donned. Her overall appearance was startling beautiful but intimidating at the same time.

Celebi followed Aurora, who was overly happy for some reason, down a corridor and they ended up meeting up with Jeanne. Celebi saw Uxie in a chamber behind them and immediately flew to him, leaving Jeanne and Aurora alone.

 _Is he coming back today?_ Aurora asked excitedly.

Jeanne frowned and gave Aurora a grim look. This caused Aurora's heart to plummet and nearly shatter. Jeanne pressed on.

 _I've been meaning to talk to you about that. You see, earlier this morning, the island Ryker was on had literally been erased from our world. Someone used the power of bending space to take the island and sent it directly into the sun. I cannot locate Fang's presence. I'm truly sorry, Aurora._

Aurora was speechless, then she broke down and started crying at Jeanne's paws. Jeanne broke down as well and let a few tears slip past her barrier.

 _Ryker was my friend as well, Aurora. He helped me on many occasions and the same could be said for you. If I really know him, he would want us to continue on without grieving over him._ Jeanne finished.

Aurora was absolutely heartbroken. She was momentarily surprised that Jeanne wasn't being formal but being familiar with her. However, she dismissed it and continue to wail.

 _Damn it all, Ryker! You told me that you would come back, you bastard! Why leave me now!_

Jeanne silently cried and watched Aurora let out a stream of curses. She knew that Ryker meant everything to the Islingr Suicune and she knew that telling her the news would have this effect on her. But, she can't just keep it secret. It wouldn't be right.

Suddenly, Aurora was emitting a very (VERY EFFING COLD) mist and said legendary walked up to Jeanne. Her tail brushed against Jeanne's leg and froze it instantaneously, though Jeanne knew she didn't mean it.

 _Do you know who did it?_ Aurora asked in a deathly calm voice.

Choosing her answer carefully because Aurora could very well freeze her on the spot, Jeanne answered.

 _I do not. There was no trace of the island, let alone evidence, at all. The only one who could have done such a thing is Lady Palkia. But that couldn't be since she was helping me this entire morning with Lady Giratina's child birth with Lord Dialga._

Aurora said nothing and backed away. A moment of silence was shared between the two. Then, Aurora asked another question.

 _So Lady Giratina had a child? Who's the lucky father?_

Jeanne, despite the situation, let out a small smile before answering.

 _Lord Rayquaza is the father of the child. He was ecstatic when he saw his newborn daughter who looked exactly like her mother._

At this, Aurora sighed but felt happy for the two parents. Though, she admitted to herself that she was envious of them. Jeanne noticed this and started to leave.

 _I have an important matter to discuss with you later, Lady Islingr Suicune. However, I am allowing you to get some rest first. Meet me in about two days if you can._

And with that, the white stag left leaving Aurora alone with her thoughts. Aurora summoned a portal to Mnt. Moon, Ryker's home. She found the cave that served as his resting place and laid down in the middle of it. She could still smell a faint trace of his scent on the cave floor. She looked around and saw her memories coming to life. This brought fresh tears to her face and a mile away, people thought that there was a ghost haunting the mountain and that the wailing was its victim.

 **Two Days later...**

Aurora walked, her face emotionless, to Jeanne's chambers. She went inside and found the Arceus waiting for her in front of a scrying orb.

 _I'm glad you could make it._ Jeanne stated.

Aurora said nothing but took her seat besides the goddess of all pokemon. Jeanne continued.

 _You recall the day Lady Mew brought Lord Mewtwo's ear, yes?_

At this, Aurora decided to be more attentive and perked up.

 _Yes, I remember. Is this what it is about?_

Jeanne nodded and gestured towards the scrying orb. Aurora looked inside and saw a gruesome scene where an **Aerial Ace** was performed. The orange blur connected with Mewtron and lopped off his ear. Before Aurora can see anymore, the scene ended.

 _It was hard for me to scrying that. Whoever did this has an alienated mind. I have a few ideas but I'll keep them to myself._ Jeanne remarked.

Aurora nodded and looked up at her leader.

 _What do you need me to do, Lady Arceus?_

 _I need you to go to Mnt. Pyre and try to pick up some sort of trail on Mewtron's disappearance. When you do, contact me through a scrying orb and continue on. Then, notify me if you see anything out of the ordinary._ she replied.

Aurora nodded but before she left, Jeanne stopped her.

 _I forgot to mention, Lady Mew will be accompanying you._ Jeanne added.

At the mention of her name, Princess teleported into the chamber and greeted Aurora.

 _I hope you don't mind me coming along Aurora._ she said in a small voice.

Aurora shook her head and smiled.

 _Of course not. Besides,_ she looked down to the floor, _I can use the company._

Princess sadly floated up to Aurora and hugged her tightly.

 _I know, I miss Alphy too. It's kinda boring not being able to see his mean look._

Aurora looked up to see Princess do an imitation of Ryker's emotionless face. This caused Aurora to laugh a bit and cheer up a little. Princess laughed as well and even Jeanne laughed. When the laughter died down, Aurora prepared to leave again, this time with Princess.

 _We'll be going now._ she announced and left the chamber with Princess riding on her back. Jeanne smiled at the sight and nodded.

 _Good luck you two._

 **Mnt. Pyre**

Aurora and Princess arrived at Mnt. Pyre which sent an eerie feeling down Princess's spine. She hugged Aurora's neck and whimpered.

 _Don't worry,_ Aurora stated, _we'll find Mewtron, Princess._

As they searched the area for clues, Aurora thought about Mewtron. True they didn't talk much but they were still friends. He always seemed to be wherever Princess goes never really smiles much (like someone we know). He's kind hearted though, and Aurora knew he would do anything to protect his counterpart.

After a few hours, Aurora and Princess met up at the base of Mnt. Pyre, tired of searching.

 _Find anything?_ Princess asked with a defeated expression.

Aurora shook her head slowly.

 _I didn't, and from that look I'm going to guess that you didn't either._

Princess nodded and Aurora let out an exasperated sigh, there was nothing there that could help them! Suddenly, a thought came to Aurora's mind.

 _Wait did you check the inside of the volcano? It's dormant now and the lava is all gone._

Princess lit up and together, they flew towards the crater and went inside. Even though it was dormant, the volcano still emitted heat and Princess was already sweating heavily. They split up and looked around for anything that could possibly help them.

 _Wait._ Princess stated. _What's this?_

Aurora walked over to her and found the object Princess was questioning. It was a piece of a blue metal, cracks on it's surface and rust on the edges. It looked a bit familiar but Aurora thought about going over it later. She and Princess flew out of the crater and landed a few hundred feet away on the grass. Aurora summoned a small pool of water from the surface of the ground and purified it. Then, she shaped it into a sphere and concentrated. After a while, Jeanne's face appeared.

 _Did you two find anything?_ she asked.

Aurora nodded and Princess floated up to the scrying orb and showed her the piece of metal they found. At the sight of this, Jeanne's eyes narrowed and a small growl can be heard from her.

 _Well, that seems to narrow down my list of suspicions quite significantly. I need you two to get back here as soon as you can._

Aurora and Princess nodded and the scrying orb disappeared back into the soil. They were about to take flight but stopped when a **Hyper Beam** was fired and connected with a boulder a few feet away.

 _Well look at who we have here, two lovely visitors._

Aurora and Princess froze, both realizing who the voice belonged to. They turned and their guesses were confirmed.

 **30 minutes earlier inside of Mnt. Pyre**

He moved quickly and silently in the shadows that obscured him. He rounded a corner and reached his goal. Chained to the wall was Mewtron and his ear was missing. Mewtron stirred into consciousness and realized there was someone watching him.

 _If you want to torture me then do it. Don't brother sneaking up to me like you did a month ago._

The newcomer raised a hand in defense, indicating that he wasn't who Mewtron thought he was. The newcomer walked over and in one quick tug, pulled out the metal bonds that binded the beaten Mewtwo to the wall. He picked up Mewtron and through him over his shoulder, the purple legendary's chin bouncing on his back with every step.

 _Who are you?_ Mewtron asked.

The cloaked figure raised a finger, signaling silence and rounded another corner. This went on for a while and when the stranger decided he was in the clear, he relaxed. He tended to Mewtron's wounds using herbs and berries he found nearby. Mewtron let the stranger do his work, the treatment already healing the numerous lacerations and bruises on his body. When the stranger finished, Mewtron sat up slowly.

 _Thank you, whoever you are._ he stated.

The stranger nodded looked around as if scouting for the enemy. Mewtron noticed that the cloaked figure was sniffing and thought maybe this guy was a humanoid pokemon like a Blaziken or something along those lines. The stranger continued sniffing then stopped. He caught a scent that nearly made him call out in excitement. But then he realized with dread there was another scent of another he wasn't really fond of. Mentioning for Mewtron to keep still, the cloaked figure took off briskly.

 **Present**

 _You? What are you doing here?_ Aurora spat.

A figure stood on a boulder in front of her. His metal armor gleamed bright orange in the sunlight. A piece of his blue metal face fell from his broken mask to the floor below him.

 _Wait, don't tell me. Was it YOU who snuck up on Mewtron and lopped off his ear, DEOXYS!?_

Deoxys laughed as he jumped off the boulder and landed on one foot, the other making contact with the ground not too long afterwards.

 _Bingo! My you are a smart one aren't you, Lady Islingr Suicune?_

At this, Princess was enraged and lashed out at Deoxys.

 _But why?! Why did you have to go and attack Mewtron and lop off one of his ears?!_

Deoxys chuckled and wiggled his finger in a disciplinary fashion.

 _Ah, ah, ah. You know that you must not tell another legendary your name unless you absolutely trust them. And you also know that you are not supposed to give away another legendary's new either. And besides, Mewtron? That is suuuch an original name, hahaha!_

Princess visibly turned red with anger and retorted.

 _Of course it's an original name. Don't make fun of the name he allowed me to give him!_

At this, Deoxys simply laughed even harder. Princess had enough of this and fired a **Shadow Ball** at Deoxys. He didn't expect the attack to come and got hit right in the face. He growled and transformed into his **Attack Form.** Aurora transformed into her **Altered form** (8'1"). Her battle armor materialised, surprising both Deoxys and Princess. She fired an **Extrasensory** at Deoxys who grabbed his head in pain

In retaliation, he fired a **Psycho Cut** at Aurora which she easily dodged. Princess flew up close and did a **Slam** right on the alien's back. Deoxys screamed, enraged, and grabbed Princess by the tail and launched her at Aurora with amazing force. The two collided and rolled a few feet away. Deoxys approached them and decided to use physical moves. He used **Take Down** and hit both of them while they were down and dazed. Aurora gasped at the pain and fired an icicle at him. It went cleanly through one of his arms and froze the surrounding flesh and tissue, effectively burning it (dry ice is a bitch of you touch it with bare skin) and making Deoxys scream in excruciating pain. Aurora picked up Princess who was still recovering and leapt back.

Deoxys was really pissed and held out a meteor shard for the two of them to see.

 _I'll show you who's the strongest legendary. I don't care if you are the Islingr Suicune. I'll show you!_

Princess gasped and held Aurora tightly. Before they got to do anything, Deoxys swallowed the meteor shard.

 _If he does that, he gain limitless power!_ Princess warned but was too late.

A dark purple aura emanated from Deoxys and he began laughing maniacally. Aurora was struggling to stand up in the pressure so instead, she shielded Princess from it. Eventually, the pressure died down and Deoxys was approaching them slowly, purple fluids leaked from his pores. Aurora felt the enormous power he had and figured that he was still a bit weaker than her though still strikes a threat.

Suddenly, Deoxys charged forward, his tentacle arms forming large blades. Aurora knew that if she moved, Princess could get hurt. Instead, she remained still. She tried attacking him with mental and special attacks but his aura nullified every one of them. He raised his blade and prepared to swing, making Aurora brace for the impact.

Instead, a metallic ring filled the air, piercing their ears.

She opened her eyes to see a man standing in front of her wearing familiar black armor. A cape made of shadows flowed from his back and black flames mingled with it. The man had a sword that was also very familiar of which was blocking Deoxys's arms from striking. Instantaneously on impact, Deoxys's arms were set ablaze, making him scream in agony. Neither Aurora nor Princess said a thing for they were too shocked of what had just went down. After a few moments, Deoxys finally stopped screaming when his arms disintegrated into nothing. He looked at the newcomer with a sneer.

 _You! Y-y- you were supposed to be dead! I saw that island get burnt to nothing when I sent it there!_

Aurora stiffened, realizing with anger that Deoxys was the one that sent Ryker to his death. Princess gasped at the new information and looked at the man hidden underneath the cloak. A few seconds later, it finally dawned upon Aurora with great shock as well as happiness when she realized who it was.

 _A-Alpha? Is that you?_ she asked.

A strong wind blew from the east and swept the cloak off of the figure revealing someone whose hair was long and naturally spiked. He had black lines that ran from his face, down to his neck, and down his back. The sword he was holding confirmed Aurora's question.

This man was indeed The Alpha.

Ryker turned his head to look at Aurora and Princess, both letting out tears of joy. He raised an eyebrow and gestured to them.

"Are you both alright?" he asked.

Aurora vigorously nodded and Princess squealed in delight. She flew up to Ryker and hugged him tightly around his waist.

 _Alphy! You're alive!_ Princess exclaimed.

Aurora smiled when Ryker had a question look on his face.

"Did you just say "Alphy" or am I imagining things?" he asked causing both of the legendaries to giggle.

 _HEY! Are you just going to ignore me?!_ Deoxys bellowed.

Focusing on the situation, Ryker gave a calm unreadable expression to Deoxys.

"In reply to your question, yes, you did see the island get vaporized. However, you didn't see me teleport away right before you bent space to do so. I, however, saw that you snuck up on Lord Mewtwo and beat him because he knew about the meteorite you have. I also happen to know that you plan to usurp Lord and Lady Arceus from their positions."

Deoxys blanched and threw an accusing finger towards Ryker.

 _No way! She told my mate-to-be over there that she couldn't detect your life source! You must be an imposter or something because even Knights can't have that much power like teleporting from space to all the way out here._

Ryker's ear twitched in annoyance at Deoxys's first statement. Though, he smiled in dark amusement which sent shivers to all of them.

"Sending me hurtling towards the sun is not enough to kill me however. In fact, that's probably one of the worst ways you could try to kill me. Even if I did went into the sun, it wouldn't kill me. At most, it would warm me. Though, I will admit this to your confusion, no one, and I mean NO ONE can hide their own life presence like I can. When I do it, it's like I never existed in the first place." he stated with finality.

Aurora and Princess were surprised with Ryker's earlier statement. How can he survive the sun? Though they quickly wrote it off as Deoxys suddenly charged at Ryker, new arms fully regenerated and shaped into swords. Ryker was about to counter until suddenly, Deoxys transformed into his **Speed Form** and impossibly changed his direction while being literally an inch away from Ryker. Ryker realized with dread that Aurora was the legendary's target.

 _If I can't have you, NO ONE CAN!_ Deoxys bellowed.

Aurora closed her eyes, his blade was inevitably going to strike her. However, she wanted to be courageous in front of her lover and watched as the bladed arm descended. However, time slowed down for Aurora as Ryker ran impossibly fast from his spot to a protective position in front of her. It was as if he instantaneously teleported to that spot. Her eyes widened as a large splash of blood entered her vision.

 _Alphyyy!_ Princess screeched.

Said person had a large slash mark that ran from the top of his left temple, down his face, down his neck from underneath his jaw, and finally stopping on his chest just short of where his heart is. Ryker winced and balled up his left fist, enveloping it with a mixture of shadows and black flames.

 **"You will regret trying to kill her. You will regret laying hands on her and Lady Mew in the first place! Perish!"** Ryker said in his ancient language of snarls and growls.

He punched Deoxys, very hard, in the core which was his brain and sent him flying into the mountain wall. When the debris cleared, it revealed Deoxys, or what's left of him. His limbs were all dismembered and were currently either being devoured by flames or shredded by shadows. Deoxys's eyes were blank as his head rolled to the side. His core/brain was bruised from the impact, scorched from the flames, and mutilated from the shadows.

Ryker relaxed when he saw this but not before Aurora noticed the animalistic fury in his eyes. Ryker turned around and bent lower to inspect Princess and Aurora. Fortunately, they were only bruised in a couple areas, nothing a day's rest shouldn't fix. Aurora and Princess tensed as they heard some noise from the bushes to their left. Ryker's nose twitched and he held up a hand, stopping the two legendaries from attacking.

Mewtron emerged from the foliage, curious about all the commotion that had went on. He was suddenly tackled however by a pink blur and was sent down to the ground. He looked to see Princess crying on his chest and blushed, turning his face magenta. He was surprised even further when Princess kissed him and remained like that for a moment. He suddenly gave in to his feelings for her and kissed her back. No words were exchanged between the two, their concerns for each other were already expressed through their kissing.

Aurora smiled at the sight but directed her attention to Ryker who was getting back up.

"You should get some rest. I'll take us all to the Hall of Origins and explain what happened to Lady Arceus." Ryker stated.

Aurora wanted to talk to him to catch up but he summoned a portal and helped Mewtron go through. Aurora and Princess followed them in and found themselves at the Hall of Origins directly in Jeanne's scrying chamber. Said stag jumped at the sudden guests and her eyes widened when she saw not only the missing legendary, but also someone she believed to be dead. She quickly regained her composure however and smiled.

 _I'm glad to see all of you alright, especially you two, Lord Mewtwo and Fang._

Said two bowed at her and Ryker was already walking towards his chambers at the other side of the Hall of Origins.

"I would love to stay and explain but I need to rest for a bit. Teleporting from outer space back to here took a lot out of me and I didn't get any sleep for the past couple of days. They can explain what happened for me." he said in a tired expression.

Jeanne smiled and nodded and Ryker left the area, leaving her and the three others to themselves. Mewtron sweat-dropped when he did so. Didn't his savior say he was going to explain? Jeanne turned to look at Aurora and cocked an eyebrow.

 _Care to explain what happened?_

 **Later**

Aurora was trying to find Ryker's chambers which was supposed to be in the Twilight side of the Hall of Origins. This area was made specifically for him and the entire area was covered in darkness. Apparently, this was set up by Ryker as a security system because there was also a vault in his room that contained relics that Darko ordered not to allow anyone else to touch. Aurora navigated with little success in the area. Eventually, her eyes adjusted and she spotted a hidden corridor in the midst of shadows. As she followed it, she thought of Jeanne's reaction to her explanation. Let's just say she was very surprised but angered at Deoxys's attempt to usurp her and her mate as well as kidnapping Mewtron and trying to kill Ryker. However, when Aurora explained what happened to Deoxys in the end, she'll never forget Jeanne's reaction to it **.**

 **Jeanne's Reaction**

 _Am I supposed to care? He deserved it and I'm sure I would probably do it myself one day. Oh well, one less issue to deal with in the world. So, how are you going to spend the rest of your day?_

 **End**

Aurora shook her head and walked further down the corridor. She eventually came across a large door and went inside, hoping that she wasn't disturbing Ryker in any way. Unfortunately for her, he just finished bathing and walked into view with shorts but completely shirtless.

Aurora nearly fainted when she saw him. He was more muscular than before and actually had a ten-pack! Was that possible for humans?! His jaw was more muscular as well and he even had eight obliques on each side (basically like six packs but on your sides)! She noticed that his hair now partially covered his eyes and his calves were more defined. However, she quickly snapped out of her trance and immediately tackled Ryker who let out a yelp in surprise.

They landed on his bed which was quite large. Actually, it was made for a size that was bigger than her in her **Altered Form!** Ryker looked up to see Aurora who was crying lightly. She smiled and leaned in, her lips connecting with his. Ryker wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back deeply, enjoying the fact that they were finally together again. Eventually, their tongues battled for dominance and it was actually improving to be a hard (phrasing, boom) battle. Ryker decided to explore the rest of her mouth and hit a sweet spot, causing her to moan into his mouth. Her voice was heaven to his hypersensitive ears and he continued to pleasure her. He began massaging her wings and legs as he kissed her, steam formed from his touch whenever he touched a spot with dry ice. It didn't burn him so he didn't mind. Aurora was still happily crying but was ecstatic that he was here with her now and the fact that he remembered where her stress spots were. This lasted for a while longer but they eventually had to gasp for air. When they did, Aurora rested her head onto Ryker's chest. He kissed her on her crest stroked her mane lovingly.

 _I really missed you, Ryker._ Aurora began. _You have no idea how devastated I was when Lady Arceus told me you were dead. I knew it couldn't be true. It just couldn't.._

She began crying lightly again and Ryker shushed her and comforted her. He then asked her a question he had been meaning to ask back at Mnt. Pyre.

"You know if I'm not mistaken, you seemed to handle yourself really well at the beginning of the fight with Deoxys. I've been watching the entire time and I noticed that not only you got stronger, faster, and even smarter than you already were, you evolved as well. When did this happen?"

Aurora smiled and answered with pride.

 _A result of a month's worth of training. It seemed to work out well for you too. But,_ Aurora looked down with worry, _do you prefer my last form?_

Ryker smiled at this and kissed her lightly on her nose.

"You need not to worry, love. You're just as beautiful as you were the last time I saw you. If not, than even more so. And if that was not the case, which is impossible I should add, I'd still love you. Not just solely on your looks but for you. Your personality, nature, everything. I'm lucky that I'm in a relationship with you. I'm hardly attractive and pretty average in my opinion."

Aurora beamed but sweat-dropped at his last comment.

 _Well,_ she thought to herself, _you obviously haven't looked at a mirror lately. He's way beyond handsome too._

Aurora kissed him again and got in a comfortable position. Ryker chuckled and rested his chin in a position that wouldn't be uncomfortable for the both of them.

"You know, I think I went a little too far with Deoxys earlier today. Or, what used to be Deoxys." Ryker remarked with a frown.

Aurora shook her head in an assuring way and wrapped one of her wings around him.

 _No. He deserved it, even Lady Arceus stated that herself. You've done nothing wrong, Ryker. Nothing but the right thing._

Ryker sighed and hugged her tighter, making their embrace much warmer.

 _But no one should have the power to decide when one life ends,_ he thought grimly, _but I WILL NOT stop protecting her, even if it coats my own hands in the blood of anyone but our own._

 **The next day...**

Aurora was following Ryker out of the Twilight area. She wondered really how good his natural night vision was and figured it was around the same area as his other hypersensitive senses.

 _I forgot to ask earlier,_ she started, _why is your bed so big? It would fit my size if I get into_ _ **Altered Form,**_ _no, it would fit someone bigger._

Ryker inwardly winced at the question but remained calm.

"No reason, though if you think about it, the comfort it provides makes up for its freakishly large size."

Aurora nodded at the answer and continued to follow him. She thought about the current path they were taking and was quite curious about it.

 _How do you even remember where to go in a place like this?_ she remarked.

Ryker gave a small chuckle and answered.

"Well, I should start off by saying that there is only one path and that path that we're on goes completely straight to my chambers. There are no turns or anything along the way. The shadows create illusions for those who aren't me and give false visions of a turn or a corner that is not even there. You're lucky, you probably wandered off the path and came back on it later on. Those who are not so fortunate may as well be lost forever and die here. However, that hasn't happened. Yet."

Aurora gasped at his answer, wondering how lucky she was to find his chambers. She thought about those who tried to follow him and wondered how long it took for them to turn back.

"From now on, I shall guide you on this path unless you're completely confident that you won't wander off course." Ryker added.

Aurora nodded immediately and sped up to catch up to him as she noticed that the shadows were starting to block her view of him. She stuck close to him the whole way, making sure she wasn't going to turn anywhere or go off course.

They finally got back into the common parts of The Hall of Origin and walked further down to see if they can find Jeanne somewhere. Suddenly, Ryker felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see a warm smile from Ragna, Saphira close behind him.

"Hey! You're not dead!" he exclaimed with a chuckle.

Ryker shook his head and shook Ragna's outstretched hand. Saphira and Aurora were already having a private conversation, most likely about their lovers.

"So, what happened to you?" Ragna asked.

Ryker sighed and leaned against one of the pillars that supported the area.

"While I was training somewhere else, Deoxys tried to kill me but I got away. He snuck up on Lord Mewtwo and brutally tortured him. He kidnapped Lord Mewtwo and kept him locked up in the catacombs beneath Mnt. Pyre. Aurora and Lady Mew then came to investigate only to get in a fight with Deoxys. I found Lord Mewtwo already so I joined the fight and in the end, killed Deoxys."

Ragna nodded and gave Ryker an amused look.

"You and your formality towards me and the legendaries gets me every time. It's as if you were a legendary yourself."

Ryker shrugged at the comment and Ragna started a conversation about how badly his puberty had affected his voice in the past.

Aurora and Saphira were having their own private conversation. Saphira awwed at the last comment Aurora gave her.

 _He said that? Really?_ Saphira asked incredulously.

Aurora smiled and nodded, letting out a small giggle.

 _That and he told me a while back that I am The Light In His Darkness. I can see what he did there though I feel like there's a second reason behind it. Whatever it is, I'm sure it's just as sweet._

Saphira nodded and after checking that no one was trying to eavesdrop, she leaned in and got close to Aurora.

 _Have you two, you know, became mates yet?_ she asked.

Aurora turned bright red and shook her head furiously without catching the attention of others.

 _We decided to take it slow. I questioned him if he wanted to right away but he told me that we should do it when I feel like I'm ready. I'm actually still pretty nervous about it._

Saphira sighed but smiled mischievously to Aurora.

 _Trust me, there's nothing for you to be worried about except maybe his size, if you catch my drift._

At this, Aurora tripped over literally nothing and gave Saphira an incredulous look.

Saphira gestured towards her lover and smiled.

 _I love him for himself completely. Though, I also love 12 inch mini Ragna. When we do it, I'm in my_ _ **Altered Form**_ _so he wouldn't be too small, you know._

Aurora turned completely red and awkwardly made her way to the boys.

"- like Justin Bieber on autotune sort of." Ragna finished.

Aurora looked at Ryker who was pinching the bridge of his nose while shaking his head exasperated. She nudged his leg and gestured for them to go. Ryker nodded and after saying a quick farewell to the others, he and Aurora left.

"Why did Saphira have an amused expression on her face when we left?" Ryker asked.

Aurora turned red and hid her face before answering.

 _Nothing! Nothing at all! Inside joke! Yeah, an inside joke!_ she panicked.

Ryker noticed this and chuckled whilst raising his hands.

"I won't pry if you don't want me to know. However," he leaned closer and whispered in Aurora's ear, "if you two were talking about mating, I'm happy to take you here and right now."

Aurora yelped and turned super red at this, looking at Ryker who was letting out a small laugh. She noticed that he was only joking and decided to get revenge by innocently rubbing one of her tails against his crotch area. Ryker let out a yelp and tripped, landing on the marble floor. He got up and gave Aurora a questioning look only to see her look away innocently as if she didn't notice what happened.

They finally found Jeanne conversing with Ho-oh and wondered if it was a good time to interrupt. Jeanne noticed them, however, and gave them a warm smile.

 _Ah, Fang and Lady Islingr Suicune, I was just talking about you two. Fang, I'm sure you met Lady Ho-oh before, correct?_

Ryker nodded and bowed in Ho-oh's director.

"No, I have not, at least directly. It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Ho-oh and I hope we can be good allies in the future."

Ho-oh was surprised at his formality and noticed, without anyone noticing, that Ryker was really handsome as well as muscular, a medium build for a man his size but probably classified as heavyweight. She saw how his shirt somewhat revealed his abs and obliques underneath and how his chest was so...muscular. She regained her composure and thought to herself with extreme lust.

 _Well, well, I wouldn't mind if he were to take me._

She made eye contact with Ryker and gave a hidden sultry smile.

 _And I may ask, what is your full name, Fang?_

Jeanne and Aurora tensed at this but Ryker calmly answered despite his reasons for avoiding the question.

"Alpha Shadowflame Fang, Milady." he replied.

Aurora looked at him and thought to herself.

 _Shadowflame? That's the first I heard of this._

Ho-oh smiled and inconspicuously posed with lust at Ryker. Ryker and Aurora noticed this and thought they were mistaken or imagining things.

 _Well, Alpha, I wish we can continue but I have some business to attend to._ Ho-oh added and left.

Jeanne got their attention by clearing her throat.

 _Well, you two must be here for another quest correct?_ she asked.

Ryker and Aurora nodded their heads and Jeanne sighed.

 _There are no missions for the two of you to take right now. Though, there may be some if you come back in a few days. For now though, relax, the two of you have been through quite an ordeal._

They nodded and thanked Jeanne before leaving.

 **Ho-oh's den**

Ho-oh placed the necklace of the Phoenix over her neck, admiring its beauty and luster.

 _Just in case I have to do it by force._ she thought to herself.

She flew to the sky and glided in the same spot for a while.

 _But first, I have to locate him._

Another few moments followed. Suddenly, she smiled and flew towards the direction of Mnt. Moon.

 **Ryker's cave**

Ryker and Aurora were reminiscing the first day they met. Although it wasn't under the best of circumstances, it was all still worth it. They were cuddling in the middle of the cave until suddenly, Aurora remembered her dream of the unknown pups who were supposedly hers and the one next to her who was supposed to be her mate.

 _Who was he? I never seen him before._ she thought to herself.

She looked at Ryker who was happily napping underneath her. She shook her head and with confidence, kissed the black haired man without disturbing his rest.

 _No matter, I'll always be at Ryker's side. There no one else in the world I rather be with other than him._

Aurora remembered that she had relived the same dream though she had already drank the tonic Merlin gave her a long time ago. She found that the dream was indeed a vision, one of which she didn't know how she felt about. Aurora mulled over it until suddenly, Ryker shot up and looked at the mouth of the cave, ears twitching and his nose sniffing.

"She's here." he said finally.

Aurora gave him a questioning look but her question was answered as the sounds of flapping wings and rainbow feathers entered her vision.

 _Lady Ho-oh, how nice it is to see you again, especially so soon._ Aurora remarked, getting up from her spot.

Said legendary noticed the way the couple was cuddling before she got there and thought to herself.

 _I might have to use the necklace._ Ho-oh thought fiercely.

She gave a false smile and landed at the edge of the cave.

 _Likewise, Lady Islingr Suicune. The reason I am here is, well, I'll just be blunt about it._

Ho-oh turned to Ryker whilst placing a flame wall between him and Aurora surprising them both.

 _Alpha Fang,_ she began, _will you be my mate?_

At this, Aurora froze and growled fiercely. Though, she was interrupted by Ryker who suddenly yawned, unintentionally intimidating them with his fangs. He looked at Ho-oh with a glare and crossed his arms.

"I'm sorry but I have to. No, I myself, want to refuse your offer. I do not feel the same towards you though I am flattered. Isn't there someone who is much more suited for a legendary of your caliber?" he suggested.

 _Don't oversell it._ Aurora remarked.

Ho-oh heard the comment and found it hard to resist attacking the white and winged Suicune. However, despite what Ryker said, she got in her most appealing form and gave Ryker a small quick view of her womanhood, getting a look of disapproval from him and a furious roar from Aurora. Said legendary dove through the flame wall completely unharmed and swiped at Ho-oh who flew to the skies to avoid injury.

 _Now would be a good time to use it._ the legendary bird thought.

Suddenly, Ho-oh began to sing and her voice seemed to be amplified by the necklace. Aurora stiffened immediately as soon as she recognized it.

 _That necklace... it forces all males to be attracted to her!_ Aurora panicked.

She looked at Ryker who was on his knees, hands on his ears.

"Make. It. Stoooooop!" he complained in agony.

Ho-oh smirked and continued to sing.

 _Don't resist,_ she told him, _not even the most willful of males, human and pokemon, ever resisted this song. However, I haven't seen other males bleed from the ears before. Your ears must be hypersensitive then, though it seems that your ears are more sensitive than that of a Noivern and they have really good hearing with their echolocation and all._

Aurora tried to attack Ho-oh only to get knocked back by a magical barrier set up by the necklace.

 _Damn, I forgot that the necklace doesn't allow females to get close._ Aurora thought.

Aurora continued trying to break the barrier until another scream filled her ears. She turned to see Ryker curled up on the ground and bleeding from the ears.

"My ears! Damn it!" Ryker shouted in pain.

Aurora ran up to him and tried to help him block out the song by placing a water barrier around his ears but to no avail. Ho-oh was surprised at this and sang louder.

 _I'm surprised you even lasted this long. If you're this willful, I wonder how strong your sexdrive is in bed. We'll find out soon enough._

As she sang louder, Ryker's pain slowly increased. Aurora was crying and felt completely helpless. After a few agonizing moments, Aurora saw that he couldn't take it anymore and after a final scream, he stopped abruptly. Aurora gasped as she saw him relax and get up rigidly.

 _Ryker?_ Aurora asked.

Ho-oh smiled and landed a few feet away.

 _Are you ready to be my mate, hunk?_

"Yes, my love." Ryker replied in monotone, making Aurora panic.

She tried to stop him by grabbing his legs with her tails and using psychic methods but in the end failed. He was too strong to be held back and anything psychic, even attacks, didn't affect him. His ears were still bleeding and blood dripped onto the cave floor.

Ho-oh spread out her wings and Ryker walked closer to her. She hugged him and he returned the gesture. At this, Aurora broke down and cried. She cried more than she ever did before.

 _I lost him, I lost him and I couldn't do a thing about it._ she thought to herself.

 _Tell me that you love me and promise me you'll never fall for another. Promise me that you'll always be at my side. I want to hear those words from your lips. After that, kiss me and we can go to my nest where we can get started immediately._ Ho-oh told Ryker.

Aurora looked at her, fury and sadness in her eyes. Those were the exact same promises that Ryker said! Ryker looked at Ho-oh and Aurora felt like her world was going to end right there and she was going to die of heartbreak.

"No." Ryker replied.

At this, both legendaries gasped and surprise and Ryker's face showed immense anger. With extreme swiftness, he restrained Ho-oh by her wings and off her necklace.

"Aurora, now!" Ryker exclaimed.

Aurora quickly regained her composure and fired one of her strongest attacks, _**Hypothermic Ray.**_ A mixture of dry ice and a beam of light shot right through Ho-oh and Ryker. Ho-oh collapsed while Ryker clutched his wounds whilst breathing heavily. Aurora ran up to him, fresh tears in her eyes, and embraced him. Ryker groaned and winced, his abdomen flared up in pain. Aurora apologized repeatedly but Ryker told her that it was fine as she healed his wounds. Ho-oh, with great difficulty, looked at Ryker.

 _Why? Why and how?_ she asked angrily.

"Well for one thing, I already made those promises to Lady Islingr Suicune. I will NEVER leave her for another. There's no other in the world like her, none that can come even close to her. And another thing, you said it yourself. I have great willpower and I was actually faking it from the beginning."

Both legendaries jumped at this.

 _Whaaaaaat?_ they exclaimed in unison.

Ryker turned to allow them to see his ears and upon closer look, they saw intentional scratch marks that were already healing. Ryker turned back around and stared Ho-oh straight in the eyes.

"As you can see, I drew blood from myself, my ears didn't bleed from the inside. Although your song was piercingly loud and it did hurt my ears which sometimes I hate that they are really sensitive, I never fell under your control. As soon as I saw that necklace, I knew what it was thanks to a collection of dangerous relics in my vault at the Hall of Origins. Which reminds me, I was supposed to destroy them all soon, an order given by Lady Arceus."

Aurora gaped at this and noticed one thing that was somewhat amusing to her.

He was still being formal and respectful.

Ryker lifted the necklace in front of him which caught Aurora's attention.

 _The necklace that can make males fall for you. The one that can never be dest-._

Ryker crushed it in his hands making Aurora sweat-drop.

Ho-oh looked at Ryker with a glare.

 _But that doesn't answers how you avoided the spell. Unless.._

Ho-oh went rigid and Ryker hugged Aurora tightly, confusing her as well as making her happy.

Ho-oh continued.

 _The only way you can avoid the spell is if you truly love another and that your heart belongs to her completely. Along with that, you must not have any ill intentions such as greed or something like loving another just for the sex._

At this Aurora looked at Ryker who gave her a warm smile.

"I love you for you, you're my everything." he mouthed, wincing as he clutched his stomach.

Aurora felt warmth envelop her whole being and kissed Ryker. As soon as she did, Ho-oh disappeared in a bright flash and was nowhere to be seen.

"If memory serves, her body recognized her wounds as fatal and automatically transported her to her nest so she can burn up into ash and reborn with all of her memories. Though, if that were to happen, the price would be that her strength and her body would be weaker next time around." Ryker explained to Aurora as she looked at the circle of burnt grass surrounding the spot Ho-oh was previously standing on.

 **Later at night**

Ryker was wincing as he sat down at the edge of the cave. Aurora noticed this, sat beside him, and nuzzled him apologetically.

 _I'm really sorry, Ryker._

"It's fine, Aurora, think of it as revenge for tricking you earlier to get close to Lady Ho-oh."

Aurora sighed at his forgiving nature and cuddled closer to her. Suddenly, he gripped her shoulder and squeezed it with little force gaining her attention. She looked at him wondering hardly was wrong.

"I know I should have done this at the beginning of our relationship but if we're going to be together any further, I have to let you in on something I'm not proud of." Ryker stated.

Aurora was worried by this though she knew it should be nothing that would hinder her love for him, she had complete faith in Ryker and trusted him with her took a silent deep breath and with great hesitation, finally told Aurora.

"You know when I said that I was pretty young when I started doing quests for Lady Arceus?" he asked.

Aurora slowly nodded and relaxed a bit.

 _Didn't you assassinate people on Lady Arceus's orders?_

Ryker frowned and and shook his head.

"That's not all I did. I joined the military at 18 and became part of a stealth division. Not only did I assassinate people, both on Lady Arceus's orders and my commanding officer's, but I also was sometimes sent in with another as a two-man army to wipe out the enemy. It was only the beginning of this year that I had to forge some documents that stated my retirement. Since then, I was guarding the Ruins of Alph as well as becoming a Knight of Alph due to Lady Arceus giving me a promotion. I was doing that when I was in the military as well but through astral projection."

Aurora nodded, taking in the new information.

 _Did you do anything else?_

"I-I killed so many people. They even called me The Blur of Death whenever I was in my barracks. I mainly relied on using a knife that I was provided and sometimes had to use a pistol."

Ryker looked down and stared at the cave floor.

"I didn't care about humans, I still don't, but back then, I loathed washing their blood off of my hands. A metallic scent would occupy my form for a few days before going away only to come back after I get sent on another mission." he continued.

He face suddenly became calm and unreadable.

"But after a few weeks, I eventually got used to it and when I got sent to the field, all I thought was "kill them and you're done" to focus. And when I met you that day, I was nineteen and was on vacation for a few months. When I "died", I went back to the military since my vacation was only a few months long. For six years I killed needlessly just as a job, and the only thing that prevented me from just quitting was the thought of you."

A few moments of silence followed afterwards. Ryker then looked at Aurora with concern.

"It's understandable if you want some space. If you don't trust me and feel like I shouldn't be near you just say the word."

He got up to leave but was stopped by Aurora who was lightly crying. He looked at her and she gave him a look that told him of her feelings. She felt sorry for him but she knew that there were things he had to do to move on in the past. She got up and kissed him, surprising him. But eventually, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back. When they separated, Aurora gave a small smile that put a smile of Ryker's own on his face.

"I'll go hunt for us. I'll be back in a few minutes." he announced.

Before Aurora got the chance to ask him if he needed help, he jumped off the edge off his cave and disappeared in the night. Aurora shook her head, smiling as she thought of past memories that dealt with him helping her out such as the time when she and Yuffie got into it. Then, it finally struck Aurora like a lightning bolt. He was hunting with a serious wound! Sure he said no internal organs were damaged fortunately, sure he said that he dealt with worse, but really? To go hunting like that? Wouldn't the wound open back up and hinder him?

These thoughts daunted her and after about ten minutes, Ryker came back with a Clefable over his shoulders. Immediately, Aurora ran up to him and checked his abdomen area for any blood spots. She didn't find any blood soaking through his shirt and relaxed.

"Is there something wrong?" Ryker asked as he set the Clefable down and proceeded to gut it.

 _What if your injury got worse? Didn't it hurt when you went hunting?_ Aurora asked with worry.

"I'll be fine, Aurora, and I appreciate the concern. The only reason why it is not healing fast like my other wounds is because your last attack was infused with **Light** and for it to injure someone like me, someone who was born with **Darkness** , the attack was brutal and the injury will last as long as a normal human's recovery rate. Besides, what kind of man would I be if I can't handle my lover's attacks, right?"

Aurora felt guilty about his wound but blushed and giggled at his last comment. She helped him with the Clefable and eventually, she set up a small fire pit which was lit instantaneously as one of Ryker's flames made contact with the wood. He put some parts of the Clefable to the fire and started to cook it to Aurora's liking which was well-done to somewhat red. She didn't mind eating raw meat but preferred eating raw salmon or bass.

After a few moments, Ryker stopped cooking the meat before his flames burnt it and handed it to Aurora who gratefully accepted it. He grabbed his raw meal and together, they started to devour their dinner.

Several moments passed and Aurora suddenly thought of something that was constantly nagging at her mind.

 _Ryker, you said that sometimes you and another would be sent in as a two-man army in the past?_

Ryker nodded, getting an idea on what was she going to ask.

 _If that was the case, your partner must've been pretty exceptional. Who was he?_ she asked.

At this, Ryker genuinely smiled and Aurora was relieved she didn't bring up a sensitive topic. Ryker finished chewing on a bone and swallowed it.

"He joined the military at the same time as me. In fact, we went on Lady Arceus's missions together for quite sometime. When I was still living alone, shortly after my parents death, I met him on one of my morning hunts. I nearly killed him but he told me that he was part of a pack that was vanquishing darkness across the world. I was interested on what he had to say and we eventually got into a conversation and on that day, besides you, I made my first friend who quickly became like a brother to me and the same to him as the years went by."

Aurora was happy to hear that he had some good times in his past but a thought caught her surprised.

 _You said he was in a pack?_ she asked.

Ryker smiled again and raised a finger.

"I was getting to that part. He's an immortal silver wolf who can shoot powerful beams of light and other abilities that I find interesting. We did everything together though when he visited at my caves. We hunted together, played together since he was a pup when we first met, and went on mile runs. He even convinced me to learn Spanish with him. I speak a total of thirteen languages now and Spanish was one of the easiest. Eventually, he convinced me to go with him to his family. He introduced me to his pack and surprisingly, they all accepted me with a warm welcome. I didn't make any friends with them though, I only stuck by my brother and his family."

Aurora rested on his lap, getting excited as the story progressed. Ryker stroked her icy blue mane, raising steam when he touched the streaks of pure dry ice power.

"I met his mother who was the she-alpha of the pack. At first glance, she immediately knew what I was and I knew that she did. However, she said just because I was a being of darkness doesn't mean that I was an evil one. She was interested in how I took on this human disguise as a little boy and I told her my father taught me."

As he said this, Aurora wondered what Ryker really was. At this, Ryker added to his story.

"I told her that this human body WOULD be me if I was born as a human. No one else would've had this look though. Anyways, since then, I became part of their family. I never told anyone what happened to my family or what happened to the people except for my brother, his mother, sister, father, and another, Jenna was her name."

Aurora tensed at this and wondered if Ryker had feelings for this wolf in his past.

"She's a unique one, being the only one with red fur and an outsider, like me. She hung out with me and my brother and no one else. My brother has a crush on her but I don't think he told her yet. Jenna became like a sister I never had."

Aurora relaxed a bit and asked another question.

 _What is your brother's name, not the blood-related one?_

"His name is Balto White. He's younger than me and almost as tall as a human, which, was a real pain to teach him how to transform into one. Anyways, when I turned fifteen, I left their pack and told them it was Lady Arceus who offered me some job offers. I said my goodbyes and for three years, I didn't see Balto again. When I did, I told him that I was a Knight and that I was going to join the army. He perked up at this and wanted to join as well, "helping a brother out by sharing his burden" he called it."

Ryker leaned back against a cave wall, letting Aurora get into a comfortable position.

"We spent a couple of days with his pack which was nice after I left. I decided that I had to guard The Ruins of Alph and left, getting some goodbyes from them. Then for two years, I guarded the Ruins. Well, you know the rest." he finished.

Aurora smiled as she thought of what happened from there.

 _Where is Balto and his pack now?_

Ryker shrugged his shoulders and hugged her.

"They're always traveling around the world. I remember the first time they saw pokemon, animals with elemental powers. Jenna freaked out pretty badly." Ryker then yawned. "He isn't my original partner but we still get the job done. I wonder how Shikarou is doing now…"

Aurora chuckled and got closer to him. An idea came to mind and she voiced it aloud.

 _Can we, umm, go Karaoke again? It was really fun last time._

Ryker looked confused and cocked his head to the side.

"Why are you asking me for? You can go wherever you want as long as I'm there to protect you should there be danger."

Aurora beamed at this and nearly jumped out of his embrace.

 _Let's go tomorrow afternoon! And you have to sing a few songs this time!_

"But I don't like singing and I sang one last time." Ryker complained jokingly.

Aurora put on a puppy-dog face with exaggerated eyes.

 _Not even for me?_

Ryker narrowed his eyes at her, slightly intimidating her unintentionally.

"A barrel of laughter. That's what you are."

Aurora laughed at this and snuggled closer to him. Together, they watched the moon and the stars twinkle in the sky, passing out after a meteor shower occurred. Ryker spotted a meteor explode in a flash of colors before he fell unconscious.

 _Looks like Lord Rayquaza has a lot of work to do..._

 **The next day...**

It was afternoon, which came too quick in Ryker's opinion. They walked into the Karaoke building and tried to find an open booth but found that the only thing available was to participate in the Karaoke concert in the back where there was a stage and anyone could sing. After begging him to sing in front of many people, something she wasn't worried about, they found a table in the concert and sat down.

"You are lucky that I love you." Ryker remarked with a smile.

Aurora smiled as well and giggled a bit.

"You know that you would've went even if we weren't together. All I'd have to do is ask." she retorted.

Ryker muttered something that sounded like "hate it when she's right" and drank a cup a water that they got from the bar.

"I'm going up next." Aurora chimed as someone walked up to the stage.

Ryker rolled his eyes and chuckled. He was uncomfortable though, they were attracting a lot of attention from men and women alike. They were both in their nice clothes, true, but with Aurora's beauty combined with Ryker's handsomeness, it was too much. Ryker, who was one who didn't like attracting attention to himself, indirectly mentally threatened the surrounding people to stop staring which was, let's say, effective.

As the next turn was open, Aurora immediately took to the stage earning a few gasps from the people of the room. She was absolutely striking, especially in the light that was projected in the room. She looked at Ryker and winked and cleared her throat.

(Remember to replace song's artist's voice with the characters' voices)

"Rather Be" - Clean Bandit

"We're a thousand miles from comfort,

we have travelled land and sea

But as long as you are with me,

there's no place I'd rather be

I would wait forever,

exulted in the seam

As long as I am with you,

my heart continues to beat

With every step we take, Kyoto to The Bay

Strolling so casually

We're different and the same,

gave you another name

Switch up the batteries

If you gave me a chance I would take it

It's a shot in the dark but I'll make it

Know with all of your heart, you can't shame me

When I am with you, there's no place I'd rather be

no-no-no-no-no

No place I'd rather be x3

We staked out on a mission,

to find our inner peace

Make it everlasting,

so nothing's incomplete

It's easy being with you,

sacred simplicity

As long as we're together,

there's no place I'd rather be

With every step we take, Kyoto to The Bay

Strolling so casually

We're different and the same,

gave you another name

Switch up the batteries

If you gave me a chance I would take it

It's a shot in the dark but I'll make it

Know with all of your heart, you can't shame me

When I am with you, there's no place I'd rather be

no-no-no-no-no

No place I'd rather be x3

When I am with you, there's no place I'd rather be, yeah

Be, be, be, be, be, be, be, be, be

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

If you gave me a chance I would take it

It's a shot in the dark but I'll make it

Know with all of your heart, you can't shame me

When I am with you, there's no place I'd rather be

no-no-no-no-no

No place I'd rather be x3

When I am with you, there's no place I'd rather be

no-no-no-no-no

No place I'd rather be x3

When I am with you, there's no place I'd rather be"

Aurora bowed and earned an enormous amount of cheering and whistling from the crowd. When she sat back down on the table, an announcer stepped up to the stage.

"Whooo! Amazing! Give it up for our star over there, Aurora North!"

The crowd cheered again and Aurora blushed. She looked at Ryker who was chuckling in amusement. She pouted and motioned for him to go up next. Ryker immediately paled but regained his composure. He sighed and headed onto the stage, earning A LOT of gasps from women and a couple of "I love you!"s from them, making Aurora giggle inwardly.

Ryker grabbed the microphone set and put it on his head. The set was made so that if you were to dance, both of your hands would be free to use.

"Demons" - Imagine Dragons

"When the days are cold

And the cards all fold

And the saints we see

Are all made of gold

When your dreams all fail

And the ones we hail

Are the worst of all

And the blood's run stale

I wanna hide the truth

I wanna shelter you

But with the beast inside

There's nowhere we can hide

No matter what we breed

We still are made of greed

This is my kingdom come

This is my kingdom come

When you feel my heat

Look into my eyes

It's where my demons hide

It's where my demons hide

Don't get too close

It's dark inside

It's where my demons hide

It's where my demons hide

At the curtain's call

It's the last of all

When the lights fade out

All the sinners crawl

So they dug your grave

And the masquerade

Will come calling out

At the mess you made

Don't wanna let you down

But I am hell bound

Though this is all for you

Don't wanna hide the truth

No matter what we breed

We still are made of greed

This is my kingdom come

This is my kingdom come

When you feel my heat

Look into my eyes

It's where my demons hide

It's where my demons hide

Don't get too close

It's dark inside

It's where my demons hide

It's where my demons hide

They say it's what you make

I say it's up to fate

It's woven in my soul

I need to let you go

Your eyes, they shine so bright

I wanna save that light

I can't escape this now

Unless you show me how

When you feel my heat

Look into my eyes

It's where my demons hide

It's where my demons hide

Don't get too close

It's dark inside

It's where my demons hide

It's where my demons hide."

When he bowed, all the girls shrieked and all of the men immediately became envious. As Ryker walked back to his seat, he thought to himself.

 _Now that I think about it, that song kind of relates to me._

Ryker sat down and Aurora gave him a large smile. The announcements were back on.

"Looks like we got a favorite! Give it up for Alpha Fang!"

The crowd erupted in cheers and Ryker felt really uncomfortable being the center of attention. He mentally threatened them indirectly again and the redirected their focus elsewhere. Aurora was drinking her cup until suddenly, Ryker perked up, nose twitching. He then gave a very wolfish smile that was somewhat mischievous, making Aurora worry.

"If I didn't believe in coincidences before, I'd certainly do now. I couldn't detect their scents with all of these people but it was only when he was walking up to the stage was when I noticed."

Aurora frowned and looked at the stage, wondering who Ryker was referring to. She saw a handsome (though not as handsome as our main hero) fellow who had a build like Ryker's, a bit shorter than said person, yellow irises, silver hair, and a wolfish smile that made her shiver.

His smile resembled Ryker's and he had four fangs...just like Ryker.

Though with all these similarities, she could tell by his aura that he was somewhat different entirely from Ryker. While Ryker had a dark, calm, and a ferocious aura, this one seems to have a bright, joyful, and amiable aura. The mystery man put on the microphone set and cleared his throat.

"Turn Up the Music" - Chris Brown

"Turn up the music cause the song just came on

Turn up the music if they try to turn us down

Turn up the music, can I hear it til the speakers blow

Turn up the music, fill your cup, and drink it down

If you're sexy and you know it, put yo hands up in the air

Put yo hands up in the air, girl put yo hands up, hands up, hands up, hands up

If you're sexy and you know it, put yo hands up in the air

Put yo hands up in the air, girl put yo hands up

Turn up the music (just turn it up louder)

Turn up the music (I need it in my life, yeah)

Turn up the music (just turn it up louder)

Turn up the music (I need it in my life, yeah)

Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohhh

Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohhh (turn up the music)

Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohhh

Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohhh (turn up the music)

T-t-turn up the music

T-turn up the

Turn up the music cause the sun just came up

Turn up the music if they try to turn us down

Turn up the music, cause I'm tryna hear the speakers blow

Turn up the music, fill your cup, and drink it down

If you're sexy and you know it, put yo hands up in the air

Put yo hands up in the air, girl put yo hands up, hands up, hands up, hands up

If you're sexy and you know it, put yo hands up in the air

Put yo hands up in the air, girl put yo hands up

And

Turn up the music (just turn it up louder)

Turn up the music (I need it in my life, yeah)

Turn up the music (just turn it up louder)

Turn up the music (I need it in my life, yeah)

Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohhh

Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohhh (turn up the music)

Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohhh

Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohhh (turn up the music)

Save my life (just dance with me)

All I wanna do is party, so DJ turn it upppp

Girl, dance with me (just dance with me)

Girl, can I see that

I really wanna touch that

Baby can I feel that (t-turn up the)

Turn it up (just dance with me)

Turn it up (just dance with me)

Turn it up (just dance with me)

Turn it up (just dance with me)

Turn it up (just dance with me)

Turn it up (just dance with me)

Turn it up (just dance with me)

Turn it up (just dance with me)

Turn up the music (just turn it up louder)

Turn up the music (I need it in my life, yeah)

Turn up the music (just turn it up louder)

Turn up the music (I need it in my life, yeah, leggo)

Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohhh

Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohhh (turn up the music)

Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohhh

Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohhh (turn up the music)

Turn it up (just dance with me)

Turn it up (just dance with me)

T-t-t-turn it up (just dance with me)

Turn it up (just dance with me)

Turn it up (just dance with me)

T-turn it up (just dance with me)

Turn it up (just dance with me)

T-t-t-t-t-t-turn it up (just dance with me)

Turn up the music"

Aurora was surprised at this man's voice which had an accent that was similar to Ryker's (think of Chris Brown's voice but a LITTLE deeper with accent). His voice wasn't as deep as Ryker's but it was still pretty good. When the man bowed, he got a similar cheer that Ryker did and walked down the stage. Aurora looked at Ryker who seemed to be distracted and deep in thought. Then, the announcements were on again.

"Give it up for Balto Whiiiiite!" the announcer exclaimed and a new round of cheers erupted.

Aurora realized that this was the same Balto that Ryker spoke of turned back around to see Ryker shaking his head with a smile.

"Of course he'd want us to do THAT song." he said and got up and walked up to the stage, leaving Aurora confused.

 _I'll be right back._ Ryker told her.

Ryker got up on the stage, earning more cheers from the crowd and was soon followed by Balto which earned them both a LOUD cheer, mainly from women.

They put their mics on and Balto looked at Ryker who nodded his head with an slightly amused expression. Aurora gasped as she looked at the two. They look like they really are brothers! Ryker looks like the older mature one, the one that protects the family while Balto looked like the chain that binds the family together, though less mature she guessed. She noticed while Ryker's hair was naturally spiked upwards and was long reaching down to the base of his neck, Balto's hair was not as spiked and was somewhat shorter, though his hair partially covered his left eye while Ryker's partially covered both. Ryker had a strong looking jaw while Balto's looked lean. Ryker had a strong medium build (if you remember, ten pack with eight obliques per side) and so did Balto who was slightly less muscular (six pack with four obliques per side). The crowd got crowd as Balto spoke.

"Hey! This is for all the women of the room. The song's translation will be on the board above us!" he spoke.

 _Yep, definitely the joyful joking one._ Aurora thought.

"Danza Kuduro" - Don Omar feat. Lucenzo

A&B ( Alpha and Balto)

El Orfanato

Danza Kuduro (Plop, Plop, Plop...)

Lucenzo

El Rey...!

(Together:)

"La Mano Arriba

Cintura Sola

Da Media Vuelta

Danza Kuduro

No Te Canses Ahora

Que Esto Sólo Empieza

Mueve La Cabeza

Danza Kuduro

La Mano Arriba

Cintura Sola

Da Media Vuelta

Danza Kuduro

No Te Canses Ahora

Que Esto Sólo Empieza

Mueve La Cabeza

Danza Kuduro

Balto's lines:

Quien Puede Domar La Fuerza Del Mal Que Se Mete Por Tus Venas

Lo Caliente Del Sol Que Se Te Metió Y No Te Deja Quieta, Nena

Quien Puede Parar Eso Que Al Bailar Descontrola Tus Caderas (Sexy...!)

Y Ese Fuego Que Quema Por Dentro Y Lento, Te Convierte En Fiera

Together:

Con La Mano Arriba

Cintura Sola

Da Media Vuelta

Sacude Duro

No Te Quites Ahora

Que Esto Sólo Empieza

Mueve La Cabeza

Sacude Duro

Ryker's Lines:

Balançar que é uma loucura

Morena vem o meu lado

Ninguém vai ficar parado

Quero ver mexe cú duro

Balançar que é uma loucura

Morena vem o meu lado

Ninguém vai ficar parado

Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi...

Vem para quebrar kuduro, vamos dançar kuduro

Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi...

Ta issa morena o loira vem balançar kuduro

Oi, oi, oi...

Together:

La Mano Arriba

Cintura Sola

Da Media Vuelta

Danza Kuduro

No Te Canses Ahora

Que Esto Sólo Empieza

Mueve La Cabeza

Danza Kuduro

La Mano Arriba

Cintura Sola

Da Media Vuelta

Danza Kuduro

No Te Canses Ahora

Que Esto Sólo Empieza

Mueve La Cabeza

Danza Kuduro

Ryker sings half of one line while Balto sings the other half, the next line vice versa and so on, they sing oi, oi, oi together:

Balançar que é uma loucura

Morena vem o meu lado

Ninguém vai ficar parado

Quero ver mexe cú duro

Balançar que é uma loucura

Morena vem o meu lado

Ninguém vai ficar parado

Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi...

Vem para quebrar kuduro, vamos dançar kuduro

Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi...

Ta issa morena o loira vem balançar kuduro

Oi, oi, oi...

DANZA KUDURO!

Together:

La Mano Arriba

Cintura Sola

Da Media Vuelta

Danza Kuduro

No Te Canses Ahora

Que Esto Sólo Empieza

Mueve La Cabeza

Danza Kuduro

La Mano Arriba

Cintura Sola

Da Media Vuelta

Danza Kuduro

No Te Canses Ahora

Que Esto Sólo Empieza

Mueve La Cabeza

Danza Kuduro

A&B!...

 **On the board while they were singing:**

 **"The Orphanage**

 **Dance to Kuduro! (plop, plop, plop..)**

 **Together:**

 **Put your hands up**

 **Moving only the hips**

 **Turn half around**

 **Dance to Kuduro**

 **Don't lose your breath now**

 **Because this has just started**

 **Move your head**

 **Dance to Kuduro**

 **Put your hands up**

 **Moving only the hips**

 **Turn half around**

 **Dance to Kuduro**

 **Don't lose your breath now**

 **Because this has just started**

 **Move your head**

 **Dance to Kuduro**

 **Balto:**

 **Who's going to control the power of this wicked feeling that now gets through your veins**

 **and the heat like the sun that can't let you be still at the beat, babe.**

 **Who's going to stop this feeling that makes your hips lose control as you dance.**

 **This fire burning inside you slowly is gonna get you wild**

 **Put your hands up**

 **Moving only the hips**

 **Turn half around**

 **Dance to Kuduro**

 **Don't lose your breath now**

 **Because this has just started**

 **Move your head**

 **Dance to Kuduro**

 **Ryker:**

 **Move your body, this here is so crazy**

 **Morena, come to my side**

 **No one is going to be still**

 **I want to see you, come on, shake to kuduro**

 **Move your body, this here is so crazy**

 **Morena, come to my side**

 **No one is going to be still**

 **Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi…**

 **Come shake your hips, let's dance kuduro**

 **Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi…**

 **Brunette or blonde, come on, dance the kuduro**

 **Oi, oi, oi…**

 **Together:**

 **Put your hands up**

 **Moving only the hips**

 **Turn half around**

 **Dance to Kuduro**

 **Don't lose your breath now**

 **Because this has just started**

 **Move your head**

 **Dance to Kuduro**

 **Put your hands up**

 **Moving only the hips**

 **Turn half around**

 **Dance to Kuduro**

 **Don't lose your breath now**

 **Because this has just started**

 **Move your head**

 **Dance to Kuduro**

 **Ryker and Balto:**

 **Move your body, this here is so crazy**

 **Morena, come to my side**

 **No one is going to be still**

 **I want to see you, come on, shake to kuduro**

 **Move your body, this here is so crazy**

 **Morena, come to my side**

 **No one is going to be still**

 **Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi…**

 **Come shake your hips, let's dance kuduro**

 **Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi…**

 **Brunette or blonde, come on, dance the kuduro**

 **Oi, oi, oi…**

 **DANZA KUDURO!**

 **Together:**

 **Put your hands up**

 **Moving only the hips**

 **Turn half around**

 **Dance to Kuduro**

 **Don't lose your breath now**

 **Because this has just started**

 **Move your head**

 **Dance to Kuduro**

 **Put your hands up**

 **Moving only the hips**

 **Turn half around**

 **Dance to Kuduro**

 **Don't lose your breath now**

 **Because this has just started**

 **Move your head**

 **Dance to Kuduro**

 **A &B!**

As soon as the song ended, people cheered immensely to the point Aurora had to cover her ears. Balto bowed and waved and Ryker simply bowed. Then, Balto spoke again.

"Another song?!"

The crowd cheered and Aurora swore she heard Ryker groaned at the matter. This time, Ryker spoke something to Balto and Balto nodded. Aurora jumped as she felt someone touch her shoulder. She turned around to see someone just as tall as Balto but female. She had a slender body and her hair which was crimson red, reached down all the way to her hips. Her eyes were hazel and Aurora saw that her ears twitched at the crowd cheering. The newcomer smiled.

"Do you mind that I sit here?" she asked, indicating to one of the three unoccupied chairs.

Aurora noticed that her voice was really carefree and cheery (think of Jennifer Lopez), she nodded and smiled as the newcomer sat down.

"You must be Jenna, Alpha told me a lot about you and Balto." Aurora remarked.

Jenna smiled and scooted a little closer to Aurora.

"And Alpha told us a lot about you, Aurora." Jenna threw back.

"I hope they were good things."

"Maybe, maybe."

They laughed a little and Aurora was already liking the red wolf in disguise. Suddenly, Ryker and Balto started singing again.

"Bailando" - Enrique Iglesias, Sean Paul

Balto:

"Bless 'em on the rain, no stress

And this one is straight for di girl 'em

The Shadow of Fang also known as my brother Alpha (of my pack)

Get di girl them in a di zone

And there's a big bone

Balto a-White let me tell ya what me tell 'em 'pon the zone

Liking it just like that

Di girl let 'em move 'pon track

Balto a-White let me tell ya

My brother, sing for 'em, do it.

Ryker's Lines, Balto sings parentheses:

You look at me and, girl, you take me to another place (because me need it, baby girl)

Got me feeling like I'm flying, like I'm out of space (heart beat)

Something 'bout your body says, "Come and take me." (because me need it, baby girl)

Got me begging, got me hoping that the night don't stop (rock that body 'cause we don't stop party)

Balto's lines, Tu cuerpo y el mío Llenando el vacío means your body and mine is filling the emptiness, bailando means dancing, subiendo y bajando means up and down, ese fuego por dentro me esta enloqueciendo me va saturando is that inner fire is saturating and driving me crazy:

(Bailando, bailando, bailando, bailando)

Tu cuerpo y el mío

Llenando el vacío

Subiendo y bajando (subiendo y bajando)

(Bailando, bailando, bailando, bailando)

Ese fuego por dentro

Me está enloqueciendo

Me va saturando

Ryker (Balto), ya no puedo mas is I can't wait no more:

Girl, I like the way you move

Come and show me what to do

You can tell me that you want me

Girl, you got nothing to lose

I can't wait no more (ya no puedo más)

I can't wait no more (ya no puedo más)

Balto:

Yo!

She a call a me for fit it

'Cause you nah say me not pretty

Me a tell you no for pit it

Any time when me get it

It's gonna be alright.

We taking it full fly

We doing this all night,

Baby girl.

Ryker (Balto), contigo means with you, para is for, una noche loca is a crazy night, ay besar tu boca is and kiss your mouth, con tremenda loca is a tremendously crazy one:

I wanna be contigo

And live contigo, and dance contigo

Para have contigo

Una noche loca (una noche loca)

Ay besar tu boca (y besar tu boca)

I wanna be contigo

And live contigo, and dance contigo

Para have contigo

Una noche loca (with you, girl)

Con tremenda loca

Balto:

Oh oh oh come, baby girl?

Oh oh ohhaaa stay with me, girl!

Oh oh ohhh play with me, girl!

Oh oh ohaaa come, baby girl?

Ryker (Balto), estoy en otra dimencion is I'm in another dimension, and tus latidos aceleran a mi corazón is your heart beat accelerates my heart beat:

I look at you and it feels like paradise (estoy en otra dimencion)

You got me spinning, got me crazy, got me hypnotized (tus latidos aceleran a mi corazón) (heart beat)

I need your love, I need you closer (because me need it, baby girl)

Keep me begging, keep me hoping that the night don't stop (rock that body 'cause we don't stop party)

Balto:

(Bailando, bailando, bailando, bailando)

Tu cuerpo y el mío

Llenando el vacío

Subiendo y bajando (subiendo y bajando)

(Bailando, bailando, bailando, bailando)

Ese fuego por dentro

Me está enloqueciendo

Me va saturando

Ryker (Balto):

Girl, I like the way you move

Come and show me what to do

You can tell me that you want me

Girl, you got nothing to lose

I can't wait no more (ya no puedo más)

I can't wait no more (ya no puedo más)

Balto:

Yo!

She a call a me for fit it

'Cause you nah say me not pretty

Me a tell you no for pit it

Any time when we get it

It's gonna be alright.

We taking it full fly

We doing this all night,

Baby girl.

Ryker (Balto):

I wanna be contigo

And live contigo, and dance contigo

Para have contigo

Una noche loca (una noche loca)

Ay besar tu boca (y besar tu boca)

I wanna be contigo

And live contigo, and dance contigo

Para have contigo

Una noche loca

Con tremenda loca

Balto:

Baby girl, you are the bomb bomb the drop drop killing it with the one drop

The way you move, girl, let me heart beat want stop

Tik a tik a tok, never gonna stop, girl

Let ma heart burn when you fit and turn

Energy you give me, girl, you run the world

Sexy body she a full of body, girl

Let me turn your body to rise up in there

Long time me looking up and listen my world

Oh oh oh come, baby girl?

Oh oh ohhaaa stay with me, girl!

Oh oh ohhh play with me, girl!

Oh oh ohaaa come, baby girl?


	12. Chapter 12

**I am excited for this chapter.**

 **Last time in Light In My Darkness, Ryker was attacked by Deoxys after his training and Arceus tells Aurora that she thought Ryker was dead. Saddened by this, Aurora trains non-stop and evolves again. She and Princess go on a mission to save Mewtron who had been missing and found out that Deoxys was the one who tried to assassinate Ryker and kidnapped Mewtron. Deoxys powered up with a meteor and right before his attack connected with Aurora, Ryker comes in, fends him off, and killed him. After a happy reunion, Ryker and Aurora go to Mnt. Moon and reminisced only to get attacked by Ho-oh who tried to steal Ryker's heart with a necklace that had no effect on him in the first place. Ryker reveals that he used to be in the military with another whose name is Balto and talks about how he and Balto used to be in a pack that accepted him even though he was "human".**

 **Chapter 12: The Alpha revealed and the Pack as well as Birthdays**

Aurora couldn't believe it, they sang both songs in perfect sync. It's like they were the best combination of singers ever. Jenna smiled as well and let out a small sigh which caught Aurora's attention.

"You know, they're like brothers and they did everything together. They even learned Spanish, obviously, please don't ask, and they were the top hunters in our pack when they were young. I'm sure that didn't change but I wonder how much Alpha changed." Jenna stated happily.

Aurora smiled and thought that Jenna was probably into one of them. Which person though was a wonder. Aurora secretly hoped that Jenna wasn't into Ryker.

The crowded cheered its loudest yet as the two bowed and walked down the stage and to their table. Ryker and Balto was smiling as they sat in their seats across from Aurora and Jenna.

"Hey there, you must be Aurora. Name's Balto White and it looks like you already met Jenna." Balto spoke, reaching out towards Aurora.

Aurora smiled and shook his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Balto. Your friend Jenna, here, is beautiful by the way." Aurora replied with a wink.

At that, both Balto and Jenna blushed and Ryker let out an amused chuckle. This made the newcomers perk up and look at Ryker incredulously, then at Aurora in awe.

"Y-y-you made him smile. You even made him laugh a bit. He rarely did that when he was with us." Balto praised.

Aurora shrugged and drank some water.

"I guess I did but it's still pretty rare for me to see him do that." she remarked.

Ryker raised an eyebrow, wondering why were they talking about him when he was right there with them. Eventually, they all got into a conversation whilst raising their voices whenever someone from the crowd got up and sang. Suddenly, Balto cleared his throat and looked pointedly at Ryker.

"So, are you going to come and visit the pack? Mother really misses you."

Ryker looked a little hesitant for a second and answered.

"Sure, why not. I don't mind seeing Lady Aniu and the Pack again. Would she mind if Aurora came along?"

Balto smiled and shook his head and so did Jenna who smiled in happiness.

"You even got some emotion in your voice now. Wow, you changed somewhat. But no, mother wouldn't mind at all." he stated.

Ryker and Aurora nodded and together, they all directed their attention to the stage for the next singer. They all listened and sang for about two hours. They then went outside and Ryker surmised that night will fall in about an hour.

"So where is this pack of yours now?" Aurora asked, curious.

Balto pointed east towards Viridian Forest.

"That forest, Viridian, I think."

They walked and the streets were pretty crowded. Suddenly, Balto found an empty alleyway and hid behind a large dumpster.

"Can you make sure no one sees this?" Balto asked from behind the dumpster.

Ryker nodded and turned around to stand guard. Aurora's eyes widened as a bright white flash emitted from behind the dumpster and out came a large silver wolf with golden-yellow irises and a full set of razor sharp teeth. Balto shook his head for a bit before talking.

 _Alright Jenna, it's your turn._ he said mentally.

Jenna nodded and got behind the dumpster like Balto did. A bright flash like Balto's enveloped the area and Aurora blinked to make sure she wasn't imagining things. Out came a semi-large wolf with hazel eyes. Her underside and paws were a creamy white color. The most noticeable thing of all was the bright crimson color of her fur.

 _Ready._ Jenna told them as she stretched her limbs.

Balto and Jenna trotted forward and were followed by Ryker and Aurora, disappearing past the forest line.

 _Can you keep up?_ Balto asked as he stretched a bit.

Aurora nodded and transformed as well, earning two canine jaw drops as she reverted to her **Altered Form.**

 _You're really beautiful._ Jenna remarked with a smile.

Aurora smirked and replied.

 _So I've been told._ she said as she turned and looked at Ryker who pretended to not hear them. Said Knight stretched and yawned, revealing his canines and causing Balto to envy him.

 _He's not even an animal and he has sharper fangs than I do._ Balto thought to himself woefully.

Ryker sniffed the air and found multiple scents trails leading some distance away. Balto padded up to him and gave a smile.

 _Are YOU ready, brother?_ Balto questioned.

Ryker smirked which revealed his top left fang to all who looked.

"Out of everyone here, you should know better than to ask." he replied.

Suddenly with no warning, both wolf and Knight took off at an amazing speed, though Ryker led by several meters. Aurora and Jenna quickly followed them soon afterwards. They ran from Cerulean all the way to Pewter City, then all the way to Viridian Forest. After reaching the outer edge of the forest, Ryker stopped, letting the others catch up to him and giving them a small break.

"We're close." Ryker announced with Balto and Jenna nodding their heads in agreement.

He walked deeper into the forest, the others following close behind.

"The pack hasn't really changed much since you left. Oh, Rasha finally came back from her alliance meeting at Hoenn!" Balto announced excitedly.

At this, Ryker smiled which caused Aurora to wonder.

 _Was she an ex? Who is she to him? Wait, no, calm down. Ryker said that you were his first and only so she couldn't be any of those._ she thought to herself.

As they walked further, Balto and Jenna informed Aurora about the Pack and who's in charge of what and so on. Then, Ryker stopped abruptly and so did the others. Two large white wolves came into view and stopped before them. Balto calmly walked up with Jenna and stated his business.

 _At ease, it is just me and my patrol partner here._ Balto said with seriousness, all playfulness and friendliness left his voice.

The two wolves stepped apart and allowed Balto and Jenna to pass. But as soon as Ryker walked up, the two wolves snarled and their hair stood on ends.

 _State your business human! Leave now or prepare to be torn apart! o_ ne of the wolves snarled.

A low growl can be heard from Ryker and the two wolves finally recognised him and backed up in fear, letting out subtle whines of submission.

 _We apologize, Fang, we didn't recognized you because of your appearance. If I remember correctly, you had silver hair earlier this year._ the wolf on the left stated.

"It's fine." Ryker replied.

He walked past them and before they questioned Aurora, Ryker waved his hand.

"She's with me." he stated. The two wolves backed down and nodded before leaving to partrol the rest of the area.

 _Now that I think about it, why is your hair black? I noticed last time you visited but I never asked._ Jenna asked as they walked.

"Long story, I'll tell you two later when we settle." Ryker replied.

Aurora wondered if he was really going to tell them about the fight with Darugas but dismissed it. There was no harm in letting them in on their adventures. They walked for another few moments until suddenly, they came across a whole pack of white and silver wolves. Aurora gasped as she saw some of them bigger than her and noticed each were either doing a specific job or relaxing, sleeping or planning around or just plain talking.

Balto and Ryker were the first to walk in, earning several greetings from passing wolves and pups. Jenna and Aurora followed, several greetings were given and multiple gasps of awe and envy (from certain females) from the passing wolves as they noticed what she was and admired her beauty. They followed Balto and Ryker further until they reached a small cave. They stepped inside and spotted a white wolf who was larger than the rest. She had amber eyes and her fur was slightly longer than the others. When she noticed the others, she smiled and got up from her resting position.

 _So you're back from patrol my son, as well as you Jenna. Keep up the good work you two._ she told them (think of Angelina Jolie's voice but wiser).

Aniu noticed the two newcomers and walked up to Ryker. For a few moments, she did nothing but stare. Her head was at Ryker's chest which made her very large for most wolves. Aurora was only at Ryker's abdomen so she felt small compared to the she-alpha. Finally, Aniu smiled and bowed her head a little.

 _Though it's only been a year, it is nice to see my son's best friend since puphood to be here._

Ryker smiled and returned the bow

"It is nice to be back here, Lady Aniu."

Aniu smiled and noticed that Ryker had made direct eye contact with her.

 _May I add, Milady, that like Balto and Jenna, my partner does not know what I am. I only ask that you keep it a secret like you have been doing with the whole pack. I'll eventually let them know, just not now._ Ryker privately told her.

Aniu smiled again and subtly nodded before talking publicly for the others to hear.

 _Your level of respect for others still fascinates me, Alpha, err.. I mean Fang. Sorry, I cannot go around calling you "Alpha" in front of the rest of the pack._

Ryker smiled, amused, and nodded in understanding. Aniu immediately noticed that he changed from the last time she saw him and figured it was because of the one beside him.

 _It is an honor to meet the fabled Lady Islingr Suicune._ Aniu remarked and bowed at Aurora.

Said legendary smiled and bowed in respect toward the white wolf goddess.

 _And it is an honor to meet the Guide of Wolf Spirits. My name is Aurora North and I would love to know you better._ Aurora replied.

Aniu smirked, wondering if Aurora's eloquence was of her own or it's just Ryker's and it rubbed off on her.

 _It's a pleasure to meet you. You may call me Aniu, no formality needed._ she said as she looked at Ryker as the last statement was made. _What should I call you?_

 _Aurora would be just fine._ Aurora replied.

After introductions were made, Aniu announced that she had to mentally search for lost wolf souls and gave a farewell as she went deeper in the cave.

 **Later, around 10.**

 _So that's how. Huh, I didn't expect you getting really pissed would lead to changes like your natural hair color and those black lines on your body._ Balto remarked.

"It doesn't work that way. I just kept them disguised because these lines would attract a lot more attention. Now that I think about it, people might think of them as tattoos anyways. As for my hair, I honestly didn't mean for it to turn silver."

"Say, Balto, isn't your dad coming back tonight?" Jenna asked as she settled herself down next to her crush..

Balto smiled and nodded.

 _Yeah, you'd think that leading souls to the Underworld would make his visits scarce but he visits quite often._

"How is Lord Demon, anyway?" Ryker asked.

Balto shrugged with a smile.

 _Doing well, I guess. Last time I saw him was a few days ago. He and Mom went running and came back REALLY happy last time. Eh, I don't know why they were though. But hey, he taught me how to do Phantom Stare at last!_ Balto replied, oblivious to the other's sweat-drops to his statement about Demon and Aniu when they went running.

Balto blinked and instead of yellow irises, there were two black orbs that seemed to be filled with voids. Aurora didn't know what was supposed to happen but shrugged it off as Balto blinked and his eyes returned normal again.

 _What was that supposed to do?_ Aurora asked.

Balto's ears fell and he moped to the floor.

 _It was supposed to make me look really intimidating and make the victim obey my orders._ he muttered.

At this, the others laughed and eventually, Balto joined in on it. All of a sudden, Aurora jumped as three blurs ran past her and tackled Ryker who fell back in surprise.

 _You're here! You're here!_ the three wolf pups cried in unison as they did things like nibble Ryker's ear or chew on his collar.

Aurora's eyes were wide.

 _What. Just. Happened?_ she thought to herself.

Ryker was surprised as well but chuckled as he reached for the pups and patted each of their heads. Aurora noticed a silver wolf, just as large as Balto, walk up to them. She had blue eyes and resembled Aniu a bit.

 _Hey Alphy! Oh, and children, it's UNCLE Alpha, remember?_ _We rehearsed this this morning when I told you three that you were going to meet your uncle for the first time._ she chimed.

Ryker sighed and smiled.

"It's been almost a decade, Rasha. It's nice to see you again. And seriously, why "Alphy"? It's belittling." he admitted.

Rasha playfully gasped and took a step back.

 _No way, you smiling AND complaining AND talking without us talking to you first?! My, my you changed._ She giggled and pried the pups off of Ryker. _Sorry about my children, they get excited whenever they meet a new family member._ Rasha explained as she nuzzled Ryker.

Ryker smiled and hugged her and gestured to Aurora.

"This is my partner, Aurora. Be nice." he mentioned jokingly.

Rasha playfully pouted and gave a sly smile.

 _So, you're the pretty female who got together with Alpha and changed his moodiness._ she told Aurora jokingly.

"Yeah, for about a year now." Ryker remarked, making Balto, Jenna, and Rasha trip.

They gave him incredulous looks and Aurora smiled.

 _Yes, I love him with all my heart. He's the one who made all of this jewelry for my birthday some time ago._ Aurora piped up, further shocking the three wolves of light.

They looked at Ryker who was too busy playing with the children as the pups climbed onto his head and shoulders.

Balto was the first to speak up.

 _Well, a human getting together with a pokemon is common now. But with a legendary? Phew! He's lucky since his looks are, heh, average._ he remarked jokingly.

Ryker noticed this last comment and smiled with malicious intent.

"Says the one who has a crush on a certain crimson wolf since he was a pup but never had the guts to voice it." Ryker retorted.

Balto blushed and Rasha fell to her side, bursting in laughter since she knew what Ryker was talking about. Jenna was oblivious to this and was focusing on a Monarch butterfly that was flying by. Aurora simply let out a small chuckle and Balto relaxed when he saw that Jenna didn't notice that last comment.

 _Oh NOW you hear us._ he muttered.

Balto walked up to Rasha and nuzzled her side.

 _Hey, sis, where is Gray?_ he asked.

 _He's patrolling. Let's go find somewhere we can talk amongst ourselves._ Rasha remarked as her mirth returned.

 **Later**

They later went to an empty area in the Pack and talked. Aurora was talking about her adventures and relationship with Ryker to the three wolves and Ryker was hunting. The pups were restless and were whining that their playmate was gone.

 _Uncle Balto, play with us!_ Violet whined, a female pup with purple eyes.

 _Yeah, play tag with us!_ Scarlet pleaded, a female pup with red-yellow eyes.

 _Or tug-of-war!_ Aero added, a male pup with light blue eyes

Balto sighed in defeat and smiled as he got up and clenched his jaw around a long branch. The pups cheered as they latched on the opposite end of the branch and tugged with all of their might. They tugged and tugged, earning a few warnings from Balto who told them of the possibility of the branch breaking.

Jenna sighed as she looked at Balto. Aurora had just finished the story about the ordeal with Lady Ho-oh.

 _Oh Balto, when will I ever get the courage to tell you?_ she thought to herself.

Sure, he was very slightly smaller than Rasha in size though he made it up in muscle, handsomeness, and his personality. Of the three, Ryker was the oldest, then Rasha, then Balto. Jenna thought that they were the closest siblings she has ever seen even though Ryker wasn't a wolf.

Rasha shook her head and smiled.

 _I can see Alpha risking his life for you. Actually, I'm sure he would for all of us._

Aurora nodded in agreement and turned as she saw Ryker step into the clearing, carrying two large Pidgeots over his shoulders. Rasha and Balto drooled at the sight and were REALLY eager. The Pidgeots were bigger than Balto so Ryker set one down for Rasha, Balto, and Jenna to share, each having more than enough to eat. They thank him and dug in, discarding the feathers and beak as well as the talons.

Ryker shared his meal with Aurora and the pups, a perfect amount for the five of them. Ryker, to Aurora's liking, cooked her part of the Pidgeot for her. No one but the pups were surprised about his black flames and how he commanded shadows to divide up the bird into pieces for the pups so Aurora figured that the others knew about his abilities. The pups were simply amazed by this but still ate their part of the bird raw to their preference.

Aurora gave an inward smile when she noticed that she was the only one who wasn't eating anything raw and figured she was probably the only one in the pack who didn't.

As they ate, they talked about the day's activities and Balto's dad's arrival. Soon, they went back to the main part of the pack area. Balto and Rasha suddenly ran towards Aniu who was embracing with a black-furred wolf who was bigger than Aniu and just as tall as Ryker! He had blazing blue eyes and a deep voice that was running with wisdom.

 _Ahh, hello, you two._ Demon announced happily as he nuzzled both Rasha and Balto.

He noticed Ryker and narrowed his eyes. Rasha and Balto, sensing the sudden tension between the two, stepped apart. Demon slowly made his way to Ryker and stared him in the eyes. Ryker stared right back, unflinching and calm. Suddenly, with a hearty laugh, Demon raised his paw and Ryker smiled as he shook it.

 _It's been a while, Dark One. So, how have you been doing,_ _Alpha?_ Demon asked.

Aniu's eye twitched as she heard him call Ryker "Alpha." She knows that's what he was called but it would confuse the rest of the pack.

"Fine, it has been too long, Lord Demon." Ryker replied.

Demon let out another small laugh and smiled.

 _After all these years, your formality still hasn't changed. Though, I can see it in your eyes, especially your smile, that you have changed much over the years._

Rasha, at this statement, ran up to Ryker.

 _Right, dad? Look at those muscles and abs! I swear I saw obliques when he stretched earlier!_ she exclaimed, earning chuckles from the group.

Ryker got uncomfortable at the attention and tried to redirect it.

"Have you met your grandchildren?" he asked with hidden hope.

At this, Demon stopped laughing and looked at Balto. When Jenna wasn't looking, Demon gestured towards her curiously and Balto blushed and vigorously shook his head. Everyone who saw this chuckled and Demon directed his attention to Rasha who beamed and called her children. Ryker sighed in relief as his escape worked.

The three pups rushed up to Demon and exclaimed in unison.

 _Hello Grandfather!_ causing Demon to pale and couldn't believe what he was seeing.

He looked like he was about to faint.

 **The next morning**

"So, Aurora, you and Alpha are currently together?" Demon asked.

Aurora nodded with a smile and stretched. It was about 8 in the morning and only few were awake.

 _Aww, now that's cute._ Aniu suddenly said.

Aurora and Demon looked at Aniu who gestured behind them. Aurora gasped with a small "aww" when she saw that Rasha's pups were each snoozing on Ryker who was sleeping against the wall. Scarlet on his head, Violet was curled up in the crook of his neck, and Aero was resting on his lap upside down. Demon chuckled at this and chuckled even further when he pointed at Balto, who was unconsciously scooting closer to Jenna in his sleep. Balto, still unconscious, suddenly let out a low growl when Rasha got in the way and accidentally batted him on the nose.

Aurora was still focused on Ryker and the pups.

 _Looks like he didn't go training this morning._ She then froze, a thought made its way into her mind. _If he's this good with his nephew and nieces, what about if he were to have sons or daughters.._

Aurora was stuck in her own fantasy while Aniu and Demon about an alliance with a nearby pack.

Later, Ryker and Aurora walked in on Aniu and Demon who were talking about some unsettling problems.

 _They won't join, they are a pack of DARKNESS Aniu! Their very souls are black and they're like demons._ Demon exclaimed, frustrated.

 _But we don't know what will happen if we don't try. Maybe you or Fang could talk to them._ Aniu replied.

 _They won't listen. We tried before, remember? We nearly lost lives in the battle that followed._

 _..._

 _I can't take that risk, love. I just can't._

Demon padded away, going deeper into the cave before blending in with the shadows, rendering their visibility of him. Ryker and Aurora got closer to Aniu who finally noticed their presence. She sighed and laid down on the cave floor.

 _I just don't know what to do anymore. Any ideas you two?_ she asked moping.

Ryker and Aurora drew blanks and shook their heads.

"If we have no choice, we have to fight. There will be bloodshed, but it's better than to sit back and let them destroy your pack." Ryker voiced.

 _OUR pack. You're part of it as well, Fang._ Aniu remarked with a smile which put a small smile on Ryker's face as well.

 _When is the meeting?_ Aurora asked.

 _This afternoon, which does not give us much time._ Aniu told them sadly.

Suddenly, Ryker's expression turned, well, more serious than usual and he got on one knee in front of Aniu, bowing his head as well.

 _"I'll fight to protect your pack no matter what happens, Lady Aniu. I'll be yours to totally command as one of your pack protectors, as you are our pack alpha._ " he swore to her in his native language, making Aniu completely and utterly surprised.

Aurora bowed to Aniu as well, silently stating her full cooperation with her. Aniu simply stared, completely speechless and shocked. Suddenly she smiled and nodded.

 _Thank you, Fang and Aurora. Aurora, I am proud to have you as part of our pack. Fang, I know it will be hard but from this moment on, I will be considering you not just as Balto's brother and Rasha's sister, but as well as my son. I'm sure Demon would as well. I hope you don't mind._ she stated.

Ryker looked up and smile, seeing his mother in Aniu through her loving nature.

"I don't. I don't mind at all." he replied.

Aurora nearly cried at the sight, the scene too much for her to bear. Ryker got up from his position and Aniu nuzzled his cheek though with some difficulty due to his height.

 _So, as one of my pack protectors, what do you advise?_ Aniu asked.

Ryker's eyes narrowed as he thought to himself. Suddenly, he looked at his rough hands and balled them into fists with confidence.

"We should take all pups and younglings, pregnant females and elderly included, to an area that will be safe from the fight since this area will most likely be a battleground. We should ask all males and females if they want to fight or flee with their families. If most decide to flee, I'll personally deal with the attackers alone."

That last statement drew looks of surprise and incredulity from the other two but he continued before he said anything.

"I will not allow ANY of you get hurt so I'll do what I must. However, should most of the pack decide to fight, I'll fight as well though twice as harder to prevent as much casualties as possible. With all due respect, I will not argue and what I said is final, Milady."

A few moments of silence followed and suddenly, Aniu padded up to him with concern.

 _And if you had to go at it alone, would you be ok?_

Ryker was about to answer but Aurora cut him off.

 _Of course he will. After all,_ Aurora smiled, _he is The Alpha and he has to survive if he wants to kiss these lips again._

She finished that last statement giggling, earning a small unnoticeable, embarrassed look from Ryker. Aniu smiled as well and let out a throaty chuckle.

 **Later**

"All the younglings, pups, and pregnant females left, Milady." Ryker announced.

Aniu nodded and looked at the crowd of wolves in front of her. Aurora, Balto and the others were in the crowd as well. Demon was standing behind Aniu, smiling inwardly since he kind of eavesdropped on Ryker's and Aniu's conversation earlier that morning.

 _My family,_ Aniu addressed to the crowd of wolves before her, _we may be caught in a large battle with the pack of wolves of Darkness. I had all of the young ones as well as the elderly and pregnant females moved to a different area that will be guarded by select fighters though I'm sure it wouldn't be necessary since this area will be the battlefield. I humbly ask all of you now if you wish to help fight off the invaders and drive them away. Please know that you do not have to and you can flee with your families if you like, we understand. Those who volunteer, know that survival is not guaranteed and that you may not come back alive. Those who do come back will not come back unscathed. Now please, those who want to fight gather to my left. Those who don't, gather to my right. Do not hesitate to flee if you want to, you won't be looked down upon._

Aniu held her breath as the crowd churned. Soon, a frown was set upon her face. Only a few wolves volunteered including her son as well as Aurora and Jenna. Rasha sadly stepped to Aniu's right with her mate, her pups needed their parents more than anything.

"It is decided then. I will go it alone and you and Lord Demon as well as the rest of the pack flee." Ryker stated.

Aniu turned to him, a small though unnoticeable tear fell as she nuzzled him. He hugged her and Demon joined in on the embrace, surprising both of them. He gave them a knowing look and the two understood that he had heard them earlier.

 **Afternoon**

Ryker stood alone, in the center of the abandoned den. Far away, Aurora and the rest of the pack were watching from a large hill.

 _Ryker, I swear, you better come back._ Aurora called out to him privately and mentally.

Ryker turned around and they all saw him give them a small bow. He then turned around and soon after, a large horde of blood-reddish black wolves came into view. Aniu gasped. There were so many of them! She counted at least a couple hundred and thought that Ryker may be too far outnumbered. Next to her, Balto growled with fury.

 _I should be down there with him! I shouldn't be here watching from the sidelines! Damn it all! No, Damn HIM for being so stubborn!_ he growled in rage.

They all said nothing, understanding his frustration and anger. Back down at the battlefield, the leader of the enemy wolves stepped forward.

 _Who do we have here? Oh, the human of Aniu's pack. I heard that Zenitheans called you "The Alpha" though, to me, you look nothing more than a weakling._ the newcomer snarled.

Ryker remained calm and replied to the enemy alpha.

"And may I ask, who are you, little wolfling."

The large wolf growled and snapped.

 _Do not mock me! I am Darklent, leader of the shadow wolves! You just bought your ticket to hell! Attack Aniu's champion!_

At once, the shadow wolves pounced at Ryker who summoned his armor and drew both swords, much to both packs' surprise. He then disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the field, all the shadow wolves in front of him fell to their sides, blood spurting from the sword wounds on their necks. Already, about a dozen enemies wolves lay dead, shocking Darklent and impressing his pack family.

 _Damn you!_ he shouted as more wolves attacked.

Aniu and her pack watched in awe as Ryker fended off each and every wolf that came close to him. Aurora gasped when one enemy wolf clamped its jaws on Ryker's arm only to get incinerated to nothing when Ryker blasted it with his fire. He used his shadows, as well as all the other shadows, and attacked the wolves, cutting them into several pieces and torching the remains. Ryker killed off another 30 or so wolves before the rest of the wolves attacked him at once.

Ryker wasn't expecting this and quickly defended himself against the onslaught. Soon, there were gashes and long scratches on his body as the wolves' claws made it past his armor. Ryker then jumped high into the air and shot a beam of dark fire into the air. For a second, nothing happened when he landed. The next, multiple beams of dark fire rained from the sky and decimated multiple shadow wolves.

Darklent was furious. How is this human's shadow powers affecting his fighters? He mentally screamed his thought to Ryker who replied calmly.

 _My powers are unique even to my own kind._

At this, Darklent was confused and wondered if Ryker was human at all.

For the next fifteen minutes, Aniu and the Pack watched as Ryker struggled to fend off the enemy wolves. Then, there was a moment when twenty or so wolves advanced on Ryker while Darklent circled behind him. Aurora paled. Ryker was too distracted to notice! Aniu, sensing what Aurora was about to do, tried to stop her only to get forced back by a gale of wind as Aurora flew towards Ryker's aid.

Ryker was getting somewhat exhausted. He growled in frustration as twenty or so wolves pounced on him. Little did he know, Darklent was charging a beam of devilish shadows in his mouth. Ryker's instincts told him to turn around, but he was too busy with the advancing wolves before him.

Aurora flew towards the battle, getting closer in less than seconds. She saw Darklent charge his attack.

 _I won't make it. I must take the hit!_

Ryker fought off the twenty or so wolves and was left with about a hundred twenty or so more. His instincts screamed for him to turn around and he jumped when he heard a familiar voice in his head.

 _RYKER!_

He immediately turned around only to see Aurora get blasted back by a black beam.

Ryker immediately dropped his swords and ran to Aurora who had a hole in her side. She was breathing heavily and blood was leaking from her mouth.

"No, no. Aurora, why?" he asked, trying to seal her wounds with healing magic.

Aurora smiled and licked his face, accidentally smearing a small amount of blood on his left cheek.

 _Because you would do the same for me. I love you, you know._

Ryker shook his head stroked her face lovingly. The enemy wolves behind them laughed in triumph, thinking that the person before them had given up.

"You're going to be all right, I healed your wounds so you just need to rest ok?" Ryker asked worriedly.

Aurora nodded and made herself comfortable on her spot.

 _I believe in you. I'll be cheering for you right here._ she remarked.

Everyone in the pack saw what just happened and were pretty shocked. Suddenly, a massive output of a blazing dark aura emitted from Ryker. Aniu swore that she heard him growl even through their distance apart.

 _What is this?!_ Balto asked, the others looking at Aniu for an answer while Ryker's aura blew at their faces.

 _I think we're about to see why he is called The Alpha._

Aurora was shocked and very scared of the massive amount of power Ryker was radiating. The enemy wolves whined and stepped away from him in fear. Aurora understood their fear, it was the same as her own. She looked at Ryker and gasped, all she saw was a massive dark form that was hidden by the aura Ryker emitted. All she saw was two white irised eyes that shone in the darkness.

A low menacing growl can be heard from the dark form and everyone saw it go from one spot, disappeared, and reappearing to another spot. They watched as more than fifty headless enemy wolves fell, dead and pouring blood.

 _Darklent, you will soon regret attacking her as well as Lady Aniu's pack. I will show no mercy so expect a dark hell on your way._ Ryker's deep voice announced, it radiated with an angry and furious tone.

Darklent stepped back, afraid of what's to come.

 _How, how are we, the shadow wolves, are beaten by you, a monster?!_

A dark and low chuckle resonated in the area. The dark form that was Ryker advanced, scaring the nearby enemy wolves.

 _Let's see if you are worth calling a shadow wolf._ Ryker stated.

He rose into the air and the sound of wings can be heard. He hovered in the spot in the sky and a small ball filled with condensed shadows and dark fire emerged.

 _If you are truly a being of the shadows, you would know what this is called and what I am._ Ryker stated _._

Darklent gasped and stepped back.

 _No, it can't be. It can't be the Twilight Oblivion attack. Only one being in history has ever used that attack and he used it on a whole village and wiped it out. Not only that, but he is the only one of his species that can perform that attack!_ he thought.

The dark form above smiled and let out a dark chuckle of amusement.

 _So, you recognized this attack and figured out who I am...good guess._ Ryker announced.

Aurora was suddenly teleported to Aniu's group. She looked around to see who did it but soon realized that it was because of Ryker's power she was there. Ryker flapped what looked like black wings once and the orb in front of him descended and made contact with the ground.

 _Perish and suffer in hell._ Ryker stated as his wings flapped and stayed in their positions in front of his face.

Instantly, the orb collapsed in on itself and let out a single wave of **Darkness that** shot out and connected with the enemy wolves. When it did, multiple branches of **Darkness** extended and in less than a second, cut up the wolves in several pieces. The ring expanded and did the same to enemy wolves that made contact with it and Darklent was the last to go.

All of this happened in two seconds since the ring expanded at an amazing speed that matched the speed and motion of Ryker's wings. Once he widened his wings again, the ring shrunk and as it passed the remains of the enemy wolves, a black flame devoured each of their bodies, leaving no trace and even turning their blood to steam.

All in a single flap motion of his wings.

Ryker landed back on the ground and let out a loud, piercing howl towards the sky. It resonated throughout the whole region and scared its occupants: humans, animals, and pokemon.

 _So that was Twilight Oblivion. It is more devastating that I thought it would be._ Demon thought.

The area where there used to be enemy wolves was a smoldering crater with Ryker in the center. Aniu decided it was safe for them to come back so after some time, they made it back to the den area. Amazingly, most of it is still intact. Though the outer edges and trees were demolished.

Aurora and Aniu walked up to Ryker with the others following close behind. Ryker noticed them and turned to face them, all malicious intent gone. They couldn't see his face due to the aura he was emitting but could tell it was emotionless as usual.

Finally, the dark aura dissipated and Aurora gasped when she saw what's underneath. The first thing that came to mind was one simple word: black. Standing before her, was a 9'10" wolf like creature with black fur and black horns as well as black wings. He had two horns on his head that were close to his ears and one horn sprouting from the tip of his muzzle. He had a chin spike and his two upper corner fangs hung over his lips. He had large dragon-like wings that were tipped with two large wing-thumb claws, one on each wing, and had small spikes that were at the bottom of each finger of his wings. His wing membranes were covered in either flowing shadows or black flames though they couldn't tell. His shoulders had one large spike sprouting at the top and another spike at the joint of his fore legs. His hind legs had spikes in the same areas. His tail wasn't as bushy as other wolves but it was tipped with a black flame. They noticed that he had the same black tattoo-like lines on his body in the same areas he had on his human disguise. However, they were black so it was hard to see since the lines matched with his fur. But then, they noticed that the lines were lined with black flames that followed their pattern so it was actually easier for them to see them. In addition to the lines, two more were on Ryker's head and reached all the way down to his muzzle, pointing to his snout.

This was Ryker's true look and form.

Aurora recognized what he was immediately. She read about his species in The Hall of Records. Not only that, she remembered that Jeanne said that he was the strongest of his species and apparently, according to Aniu and Darklent, the only one of his species that can use Twilight Oblivion.

 _No way. Ryker, The Alpha, is a Fenrir?_ Aurora thought to herself before growing excited. _Ryker, you are of the winged wolf species that can command darkness and flames to their will?! That explains so many things!_ Aurora announced.

Ryker nodded and the others noticed Aurora called him "Ryker" though they dismissed it.

 _Not only that,_ Aniu chimed in a plain voice, _but he is The Alpha, the Lord of Devouring Shadows and Twilight Hellfire, the strongest of the Fenrir as well as the last._

Ryker flinched at the last statement and nodded.

 _Indeed,_ he spoke, his deep powerful voice resonated in their minds, _I am all of those things. The only difference between me and the rest of the Fenrir is that while my species is completely immune to fire and darkness attacks, I am the only one that can hurt them with those two elements. I can also hurt other species immune to fire and darkness. Basically for example, I can incinerate a Charizard with the flash fire ability with flames, rather than them being absorbed and adding to the Charizard's power. I was born with flames hotter than the sun's core and with the darkness darker than that of a black hole. I'm the first and only of my species that have these gifts. Even my family didn't have these gifts. I should know since I burned their corpses in respect after they were murdered._

Aurora and the others took in this new information. They all accepted it pretty easily actually and surprised Ryker when they had smiles on their faces. Aurora was the one who spoke what was on their minds.

 _Ryker, we believe you are the same Ryker we know before. Don't think for a second that because you are a Fenrir that we will cut our ties with you. Those people in your homeland didn't know you and feared you. But with us, we actually admire you for, well, you and your traits, personality, and qualities. I admit I was a little afraid of you when I first saw you transform but I got over it and like you to me, I prefer you in your true form rather than your human disguise._

The others nodded in agreement and Ryker bowed his head with hidden happiness and spoke in the usual calm tone.

 _Thank you all for accepting me._

The rest of the pack behind them cheered for their victory and for their savior. Ryker's nephews rushed towards him and tackled him, this time he stood without budging.

 _Uncle Alpha, you're a wolf like us and you can fly! Or should we call you Uncle Ryker?_ the pups announced.

Ryker chuckled and replied to them.

 _"Uncle Ryker" will be fine. Calling me "Uncle Alpha" will cause confusion within the pack._

Aniu smiled with much appreciation and padded up to him.

 _Oh, but you are the Alpha of your own pack. You have Aurora and some friends, correct? Ragna and Saphira I think their names were? You're a leader to them, Ryker, and like you to us, they are part of your family._ she announced.

Ryker was surprised at the new information but smiled and thanked Aniu. Demon stepped forth and cleared his throat.

 _Well, now that all the excitement is done and all, let's clean up around here._

 **Later**

Ryker walked through the den with Balto, his black claws clicking on the rocks and cobblestones underneath. He was greeted happily by every passing wolf and was given a compliment though most of the compliments given by the females were about his looks.

 _How does it feel, brother? To be a savior of a whole pack?_ Balto asked with a smile.

It took a while for Ryker to answer him. Though when he did, it was with a grim smile.

 _It feels...different. The last time someone saw this form dropped everything and ran away screaming. Later, he came back with the whole village threatening to kill me since I was a monster to them. I couldn't blame them though, I gave them exactly what they expected of me when they slaughtered my family._

Balto nodded, trying to understand how Ryker felt. Speaking of his name, Ryker explained to them why he chose to go under the alias of "Alpha" and kept his real name hidden. They understood this and told him that it was alright when he apologized. They walked for another few minutes, contemplating about the day's events.

 _Aurora was right though. You being a Fenrir explains sooo much._ Balto remarked with a smirk.

Ryker chuckled at this and suddenly remembered a piece of information.

 _Did you know, they based the son of the Nordic God, Loki after our species? I feel like we differ immensely from the Fenrir in the Scandinavian myths._

Balto laughed a bit and so did Ryker. Eventually, they reached Aniu's cave and Balto found Jenna cleaning her paw. He gulped and Ryker nudged his side.

 _Go for it._ he told Balto.

 _But what if-_

 _If she doesn't like you the same way then I'm sure you two will remain close friends. You can do it, Balto. Believe in yourself._

Balto nodded and took a deep breath. He padded up to Jenna and nudged her side.

 _Hey, can I talk to you about something?_ he began.

Ryker smiled and left the scene only to encounter Rasha on the other side of the cave. Her pups were sleeping due to the day's events and her mate was as well.

 _Heya, Alphy, or should I say Ry?_ Rasha announced with a smile.

Ryker smirked and jokingly let out an exasperated sigh.

 _Enough with the nicknames already, sister._

Rasha chuckled and Ryker saw that her paw was underneath her mate's. Gray had slate-colored fur and Rasha told him earlier that Gray had blue eyes. Ryker smiled and nuzzled her cheek before turning around.

 _I'll leave you alone with your mate and children to rest. See you later, Rasha._

All of a sudden, the two heard an _oof!_ and found Balto pinned underneath Jenna who was licking his face happily.

 _Way to go bro._ Rasha told him with a smile.

Balto tried to smile back but it was hard to for his newfound lover was kissing his face.

Ryker left the cave and noticed that the sun started to set. He remembered that Aurora was helping Aniu with the elderly and Demon was tending to the ones who were carrying children. Ryker decided it was time to go exercise and left. He ran laps in the forest as well as flew. He then practiced his combat skills with shadow dummies that moved on their own. For two hours he did this, and when he finished, he padded back to the cave and nodded off to sleep in the corner.

Aurora was looking for Ryker. She just finished helping Demon helping the elderly move to their homes and she wanted to talk to Ryker. She asked a few wolves and they said that he flew off somewhere a couple of hours before. Aurora knew that he went training and concluded that he would be back by now. She searched the entire den then decided to check the main cave. She smiled when she noticed that Jenna and Balto were sleeping together, their tails crossing and touching. She saw Rasha and Gray as well as their pups get up.

 _Have you seen Ryker?_ Aurora asked.

 _I think he's at the back of the cave where no one sleeps._ Rasha replied.

Aurora thanked her and said bye to the pups as they left. She figured that the male that was with them was Rasha's mate who asked Aurora to thank Ryker when she could. Aurora went to the back of the cave and noticed the many stalactites hanging from the ceiling. There were a few stalagmites as well but Aurora was able to maneuver around them. She then reached a clearing with neither of the rock formations and noticed that the area was the darkest part of the cave. She took a step forward and jumped back in surprise when she realized that she stepped on a paw.

A black form got up and yawned, revealing its canines. Then, it opened its eyes and noticed Aurora.

 _Hello Aurora. Do you need something?_ Ryker asked.

When he did, Aurora fell to her side laughing which earned a look of confusion from Ryker. When she regained her mirth, she got up and explained.

 _I'm sorry. I just stepped on your paw which I didn't see since you're practically invisible._

Ryker smiled and shook his head in amusement.

 _So, you're done with your duties?_ he asked.

Aurora nodded and sat next to him and leaned against his side, surprising him that she was still comfortable being around him even in his true form. He soon got over it and wrapped a wing around Aurora, keeping her warm. The cackling of sparks from the flame on his tail was the only thing that could be heard besides their breathing.

 _I want to talk to you about something._ Aurora asked.

 _What do you want to talk about?_ the Fenrir replied.

 _I noticed that when I thought you were human, I was greatly saddened by the fact that you wouldn't live as long as I would being immortal. But now that I know that you're immortal, a Fenrir at that, it makes me really happy to know that I can finally live with my lover forever._ Aurora told him happily.

Ryker smiled at this and licked her face, earning a sigh of contentment from Aurora.

 _I may be immortal but I can still die in battle._ Ryker remarked.

 _Also, I want to know if you would like to join the Legendary Council. It would really be a great help to us._ she continued, wanting their conversation to steer away from his last statement.

Ryker frowned at this but continued to lick her, the canine form of kissing is pretty simple.

 _I'm not sure if the other legendaries would like that. Especially since I'm not a pokemon but like you, a creature from elsewhere that has migrated to here._ he replied.

 _Exactly! They know I'm from the land of Glaciendia and they still accepted me. Even the humans classified me as a legendary pokemon of light, ice, and water!_

Ryker mentally sighed and nuzzled her cheek in defeat.

 _Alright, I'll think about it. But I wonder what would happen if the legendaries find out that the last member of his species, a Fenrir, will join their ranks. I can only imagine the shock._ he remarked earning a giggle from Aurora and chuckling a bit himself.

 **Jeanne's chambers**

Jeanne smiled as she dismissed the scrying orb.

 _So they know about his real self now. I wonder how will this turn out?_

Darko rose from their bed and nuzzled her neck.

 _You got to stop spying on them,_ he stated, _it's creepy and you don't want to accidentally see a scene of those two lovemaking if they go that far._

Jeanne blushed and nibbled his ear.

 _I'm not spying on them, I'm making sure all goes well for our most powerful friends!_ she retorted.

Darko shook his head and chuckled, drawing an annoyed look from Jeanne. She suddenly tackled him and but nibbled at his neck.

 _Why WATCH lovemaking anyway?_ she said with a mischievous smile.

 **LEMON ALERT!**

Darko gulped as Jeanne lowered her head to his lower regions. She smiled as she spotted his sheath twitching. She licked at it, coaxing the member out of its hiding place and earning a small grunt from Darko. She flicked the tip with her tongue and with her tongue, somewhat batted it on both sides. In just a few seconds, mini-Darko was full mast.

Jeanne smirked and looked at Darko and winked. Darko shook as she enveloped his entire member in her mouth. She swished her tongue around it and massaged it. She released the dark purple rod and licked it from the base up. Darko moaned as she continued her activity. She then enveloped his member again in her mouth and started to bob her head up and down while massaging his 14 inch member (still in **Altered Form)** with her tongue. She went slow at first then sped up as she felt him growing even warmer. Jeanne then fully deep-throated him and purposely gagged her throat, increasing the pleasure. Darko grunted and eventually released his seed into her mouth, stopping after a minute or so. Jeanne smiled as she swallowed the creamy substance which to her, tasted like sweet grapes. She then turned around and presented herself to him.

Darko growled and mounted her aggressively, making Jeanne drip in anticipation. He then entered her full force and pumped in and out of her at a steady pace. She moaned as his skilled thrusts made contact with her sweet spot and became wetter by the second. All that could be heard was the wet sound of fur against wet fur as they mated. Darko growled and lightly bit her neck lovingly. She repayed him back thrusting her hind back when he thrusted forwards and vice versa to increase the pleasure. Darko then got an idea and got into **Natural Form,** a form that gave them a natural size for their species that was smaller than their **Battle Form.** Jeanne gasped as he grew in size. His 14" member became 19'' in just a few seconds. Darko felt the pressure beginning to build up within him as he moaned at the sudden tightness of Jeanne's womanhood. He sped up, hitting Jeanne's g-spot skillfully every time and stretching her a little with his girth.

The two Arceus moaned loudly when they released. Jeanne moaned as she felt his warm seed enter her womb and expanded her belly a little. She smiled warmly and basked in the euphoric aftermath. Darko panted with exhaustion and collapsed back onto the bed, taking Jeanne along with him. They laid there together, passing out after a few minutes.

 **Aniu's Cave**

Morning came and Aurora woke to see Ryker come back from training as well as hunting. He set the Magikarp in front of her and sat on her left, a Pidgey in his jaws.

 _Thank you, dear._ Aurora chimed.

 _No problem._ Ryker replied.

Aurora noticed that he was reverting back to the phase where he rarely spoke long sentences or even talked at all. She thought that maybe he was more quiet when he's in this form and he wasn't used to having someone nearby. But she knew, deep down, that he still loved her and the same goes for her. At least he still smiles.

 _How is your day so far?_ she asked.

 _Well, I'm still unused to the positive attention._ he replied.

Aurora nodded, understanding his feelings. She then thought of the many things that she thought was weird for him when she first met him. His ears twitched at every sudden noise, he always sniffed the air for signs of danger or life, he had fangs, his hypersensitive hearing, his hypersensitive nose, his amazing eyesight, as well as his amazing instincts. Those things were now clear to her when she found out he was a Fenrir.

 _Makes a lot more sense._ she thought to herself.

They ate while talking (she did most of the talking) about the Legendary Council. Apparently, he would have to defeat a legendary in a battle to join. The legendary would be chosen at random and that includes the two Arceus. Ryker thought about the reactions he could have. They could be positive, negative, and neutral but most likely negative. He also wondered what were to happen if he had to face Princess. He shrugged as he figured that the Mew would most likely blow psychic bubbles in his face, laughing while saying "Alphy, you're funny!"

Aurora also asked why he was so freakishly huge to which Ryker responded that he was in his **Natural Form.** Aurora nodded in understanding, comparing Ryker to the larger wolves of the Pack and laughing when she noticed that he dwarfed many, if not, all of them.

After eating, the two stretched and waited for their food to digest before leaving. They ran into Balto and Jenna who were nuzzling each other already.

 _Thanks for cheering me on, Ryker._ Balto told Ryker when he noticed the two.

Ryker simply nodded and with Aurora, left them alone.

 _So, what do you plan on doing?_ Aurora asked.

 _I need to speak with Lady Aniu._ Ryker replied.

Aurora nodded and eventually, they found Aniu sitting and Demon playing with Rasha's pups nearby.

 _Our grandpups are so adorable._ Aniu thought.

Her nose twitched as a downdraft let her detect Ryker by his scent. She turned around to see him and Aurora close behind.

 _Ah, Ryker. What do you need on this fine morning?_ Aniu asked in a cheerful tone.

Ryker gave her a look that told her their conversation was to be private. She understood and thought of an excuse.

 _Aurora? Can you ask Rasha if the children need to eat right now?_

 _Sure thing, Aniu._ Aurora replied with a smile and left.

Aniu frowned and looked at Ryker, hoping this conversation wasn't going to be very serious. What came next though completely threw her off guard.

 _Aurora's birthday is coming up and I was wondering if my idea would be sufficient._ he told her.

Aniu smiled and lay down on her belly.

 _What are you planning to do?_ she asked.

Ryker lay on his stomach as well, his size easily towering over hers.

 _I am planning to throw a surprise party as well as give her this._ he replied.

Aniu's eyes widened when she saw what he drew from his dimensional storage. A beautiful tiara made of Celestial Silver and sparkling blue sapphires. The tiara was meant to be on Aurora's crest and it also matched her other jewelry.

 _I skipped training this morning to make this._ Ryker added.

 _How without a forge?_ Aniu asked incredulously.

 _I went to the nearby and pond melted a circle of cobblestone on the ground. I used the water for cooling, a hammer from my storage, and my own flames for heat._ he explained.

Aniu couldn't believe it. Ryker rarely skipped training and yet here he was. She then smiled and nodded.

 _I'm sure she will love this gift, Ryker. It's perfect for her. Did you get her anything else?_

Ryker smirked and stored the tiara. He then pointed to the sky. Aniu looked up and saw nothing out of the ordinary.

 _You have to wait for nighttime but this is the reason why I was so tired yesterday._ Ryker explained.

 _What do you mean? What did you do?_ Aniu asked.

Ryker looked around to check if Aurora was nearby. He then told Aniu about his gift.

 _You did whaaaat?!_ Aniu shouted in his head.

Ryker simply nodded with a smile and Aniu sighed.

 _The lengths you go for her. We can see the constellation tonight, correct?_ she asked.

Ryker shook his head.

 _I put a cloak over it, hiding it from view. The cloak will be removed in five days on the 12th._

Aniu nodded and smiled.

 _Well, Ryker, I'm certain these gifts will make her overly happy._

 _Thanks for your input, Milady._

 **With Aurora and Rasha at the pond**

Aurora was with Rasha and was swimming in the pond with her. Rasha said that she already told Aniu that the kids did not need to be fed for now and Aurora decided to tell Aniu later. She had more pressing matters to attend to anyway.

 _Ryker's birthday is coming soon, the 9th I think._ Rasha told Aurora.

Aurora sighed and blew bubbles into the water.

 _I know but I don't know what to get him._ she said sadly.

Aurora knew Ryker's birthday was coming up but she couldn't get any ideas.

 _Isn't he only three days older than you?_ Rasha asked.

Aurora nodded and smiled a little. She continued to brainstorm ideas until suddenly, one came to mind.

 _What if I made him a necklace?!_ Aurora shouted, excited.

Rasha jumped out of the water and shook herself dry. She then turned to Aurora with the same excited expression.

 _Yeah, then you both can have enchanted necklaces that signify your love for each other! What should we make it with though?_ Rasha wondered.

Aurora smiled even wider, already having an idea on the materials.

 _What about the Twilight Steel that he used for his swords and armor? The gems could be those dark-auraed white Twilight gems!_

Rasha nodded excitedly.

 _Yeah, yeah that's it! But,_ her ears dropped, _how are we going to make it? I mean, we don't have the materials and we don't have a forge._ Aurora frowned, she didn't think that far ahead. Suddenly, Rasha gasped. _Wait, don't you have a legendary in your Council who can forge things? A fire type maybe?_ Aurora gasped.

 _That's right! Lord Heatran can teach me how to forge the necklace! He could also provide me with the materials! Great idea, Rasha!_

Aurora got out of the water, dried herself, and followed Rasha out of the area. Then, Aurora asked Rasha to not to tell Ryker where she was going. Rasha promised she wouldn't tell and Aurora left to The Hall of Origins to forge her gift.

Rasha smiled and padded away. She walked past a small pit full of magma and thought that someone must have practiced their magic there. She shrugged and walks past it, not noticing a small piece of a broken sapphire next to it.

 **Later**

It was afternoon and Ryker didn't see Aurora ever since he had the conversation with Aniu. He asked Rasha since Aurora's scent was pretty fresh on her but Rasha said that Aurora had to go to Lavender Town to pay her respects to a friend at the cemetery. Ryker nodded and understood Aurora's reasons for leaving.

 _So, looking forward to anything?_ Rasha asked innocently.

 _Aurora's birthday is on the 12th._ Ryker replied.

Rasha sweat-dropped but egged on.

 _I know that, but, anything else?_ she asked.

 _Uh, no. Nothing much._ Ryker replied, genuinely oblivious that his own birthday was just a couple of days away.

Rasha's jaw dropped. He really doesn't have a clue! Finally, risking a bit, she told him about it.

 _Hey, isn't your birthday in two days?_ she asked.

Ryker's eyes widened for a quick second but then relaxed.

 _Huh, I forgot about that. However, I don't want a birthday party or any gifts. A simple "happy birthday" will suffice._

Rasha couldn't believe what she was hearing. Suddenly, a thought came to mind.

 _Say, when was your last birthday party?_

Ryker frowned, trying to remember. Then his expression turned blank as he answered.

 _The year before my family passed. When I was still eight years old._ Rasha suddenly felt guilty for bringing up the subject. Then she apologized to Ryker who told her it was alright and that she didn't know. _By the way, how did you know my birthday was in two days?_ Ryker asked.

 _I heard Aurora say that you are three days older than her the other day._ Rasha explained nervously.

Ryker nodded and went back to staring at seemingly nothing, navigating deeply into his own thoughts.

Rasha inwardly sighed, thinking that she dodged a bullet there. She then looked up to see Ryker get up and turn back into his human form.

"I got to go make up for missing training this morning. I'll see you later, Rasha." he told her.

She nodded as he walked off, stretching his arms and rolling his neck.

 **With Aniu and Jenna**

 _What exactly are you planning to do?_ Aniu asked.

Jenna was tying a rope around a stick that resembled a human figure to a pointed log.

 _Balto made a bet, one that requires me to try and launch a human-shaped log with a rocket, also made out of a log. You have to be my witness since you don't lie._

Aniu rolled her eyes and helped Jenna tie the rope together.

 _Where did you two get these ideas from?_

 _He said my eyes shined brighter than the stars and he felt like he was soaring towards them. That's when he got the idea._ Jenna replied.

 _What happens if you lose?_ Aniu asked.

 _Loser rolls in mud and winner gets to watch and relax._ Jenna replied, earning an amused sigh from Aniu.

When they finished, Aurora suddenly appeared out of nowhere and looked around.

 _Have you two seen Rasha?_ she asked.

The two wolves shook their heads and Aurora shrugged. She then noticed the rocket and human logs and gave them a questioning look.

 _An idiotic bet._ Aniu answered jokingly earning a small giggle from Jenna.

 _Oh, I have to see this._ Aurora remarked.

Jenna made the log point upwards and charged a small amount of light energy. She then released it at the base of the log which sent it flying through the air.

 _I win._ Jenna remarked.

 _Let's see where it lands._ Aniu added.

 **With Ryker**

Ryker was sweating as he finished his last set up sit-ups.

 _500, done._ he thought to himself.

He got up and got into a one-handed push-up position. He's been going at his training for a few hours to make up missing training earlier that morning. He ran to Cerulean and back a few times and did three sets of sit-ups, two sets of push-ups, a few sets of lunges, and some sets of crunches on a nearby tree branch.

He finished his push-ups and wiped the sweat off his face with his free shirt. He looked at his bare chest and abdomen and smirked.

 _Got to keep both forms fit._ he thought to himself.

Suddenly, a pointed log impaled his right chest.

 **Normal POV**

 _RYKER! Are you alright?_ Aurora asked worriedly as she helped him up slowly.

Jenna gasped at the sight of the log sticking through the right side of his chest and nearly broke down.

 _Omigosh I'm so sorry, Ryker! I didn't mean for the log to end up impaling you!_

Ryker smiled and winced at the action.

"It's alright. Just help me remove this thing so I can heal before losing too much blood." he said weakly.

Aurora held him tight as Aniu and Jenna took their positions. Then, Jenna began pushing the log out from behind carefully while Aniu pulled. Ryker's breathing quickened for a moment but he held onto Aurora who helped him stay calm.

The log finally slid out and Ryker began healing himself. They watched in awe and with revulsion as his ribs and other bones literally snapped back into place. His flesh and muscle tissue slowly knit itself back together. After about ten minutes, Ryker was fully healed and color finally returned to his face.

Jenna stepped forward in her human form and examined him for anything missing or damaged. She noticed how his breathing kind of emphasized his muscles and the ten pack as well as the obliques on his side. She inspected his chest and felt around his back for anything out of the ordinary. She concluded he was alright as he put his shirt back on.

 _I know Balto has great muscles too but this is ridiculous._ Jenna thought to herself.

She turned to Aurora and Aniu and mouthed "wow" earning a few giggles of amusement from the two. Ryker finished putting on his shirt and got up.

"Thanks, you three. Now, I'm going to take a small dip in the pond. I'll be right back to catch up with you later Aurora, unless you want to join me of course." he stated.

 _As tempting as it is, I have some things to discuss with Rasha._ Aurora replied with a giggle.

Ryker smiled and shrugged then left the area, leaving the three to themselves. Jenna transformed back into her wolf form and shook her head.

 _He walks off and acts as if he didn't just get impaled by a log._

Aurora smiled and began to leave.

 _That's Ryker for you. Pretty tough person, though "pretty tough" may be an understatement._ she remarked.

Aurora left and found Rasha watching her children playing with her mate. Rasha noticed Aurora and a huge grin made its way on her face.

 _Did you make it? Did you?_ Rasha asked excitedly.

Aurora beamed and nodded, pulling out the necklace from her dimensional storage. Rasha gasped at the necklace in awe and wonder.

The necklace was all black since it was made with Twilight Steel and was shaped into the Greek symbol that meant "Alpha" (think of an ancient letter A). The symbol had sharp points that resembled Ryker's wing tips. The bar in the middle was shaped like a line of flames. On the sides of the symbol were wings that resembled Ryker's. In the center of the alpha symbol was what seemed to be Ryker's head, a black wolf head with three horns, two between the ears and one on the snout above the nose. Two Twilight gems were present on the head as the eyes, the dark aura within the gems were radiating from them. The chain of the necklace was basically a bunch of black metal fangs bound together.

 _Wow! You made that?!_ Rasha asked incredulously.

Aurora nodded, proud of her work and happy that she was able to forge it with mastery.

 _Thank you, Lord Heatran._ She thought to herself.

Aurora put the necklace away and gestured towards Rasha's family.

 _I think they want you over there._ Aurora remarked with a grin.

Rasha smiled and nodded before running after her mate and children, laughing all the way. Aurora left the area and thought to herself happily.

 _Just two more days, I can't wait!_

For the rest of the day, Aurora walked around the camp with Balto and Jenna. She told them of her plan and was surprised to hear that Ryker didn't want a party but just a simple "Happy Birthday" was enough. She frowned at this and thought of how he didn't like drawing attention to himself. Sighing in defeat, she decided to do a small scale surprise with just the ten of them (Aurora, Balto, Jenna, Rasha, the pups, Gray, Aniu, and Demon). Later, they did numerous activities ranging from sparring to dancing on hot coals. It was a small victory party and they felt like they should participate. Aurora spotted Ryker in his **Natural Form** form next to Aniu. They seemed to be talking about something important but it didn't worry her. The day went on and when night fell, Balto, Jenna, and Rasha and her family were all passed out, sprawled all over the cave floor. Aniu and Demon left to go walking in the forest leaving Aurora and Ryker the only ones awake in the cave.

Aurora leaned her head against Ryker's chest, listening to his steady breathing rise and fall. Ryker wrapped a wing around her and licked at her crest. They didn't exchange any words, the warm and romantic contact was enough for them. Ryker nibbled on Aurora's ears which were hidden behind her crest, earning a few giggles from Aurora. She looked up at him and suddenly squinted. A thin silverish black scar ran down from Ryker's left temple, down across his eye, down his jaw, and stopping right above the where the heart is supposed to be.

 _Is something wrong?_ Ryker asked

 _That scar, was it from that fight with Deoxys?_ Aurora replied questioning him.

Ryker sighed and nodded.

 _I'm surprised you didn't notice until now. I have this scar on my human form as well._ he remarked.

Aurora frowned, saddened and feeling guilty about what happened. Suddenly, she was enveloped in an extremely warm feeling. She saw that Ryker had hugged her and wrapped both wings around her.

 _Don't feel guilty about it. It's my fault anyways for not predicting his move. Besides, if I didn't have this scar, it may have turned out to be you though with something worse since you weren't able to defend yourself at that moment._ he consoled.

Aurora didn't say anything but buried her head in his chest. Soon after what seemed to be an eternity, both fell asleep peacefully, a smile on Aurora's face and a look of contentment on Ryker's.

 **Two days later...**

 _Happy Birthday!_ they all shouted in unison, surprising Ryker immensely.

It was morning and he was on his morning run until they suddenly came out of nowhere and surprised him. Aurora padded up to him and kissed his cheek lovingly.

 _What did you expect? To be alone on your birthday?_ she asked jokingly.

Ryker stared at her and said nothing. He then began to speak but was cut off by Aurora before he had a chance.

 _Don't answer that, please. Just come with all of us to where we're having your party._ she stated with a smile.

Ryker smiled and followed them to a nearby clearing where a table was set up and food were laid in different spots. All had a barrier surrounding them to keep fresh.

 _Aurora hunted while we worked on the table and decor._ Aniu remarked with a grin.

Ryker looked around and noticed there were indeed some decorations hanging from the trees. A large banner that read "Happy 25th Birthday!" hung above the table. Aniu motioned for them to take their seats and they did so. Ryker was seated at one end and Demon at the other. Aurora got up from her seat and smiled.

 _Dig in everyone!_ she announced and everyone began devouring their food.

They ate and conversed about what they were planning to do for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, Aniu and Demon had to go with a few others to scout an area a little ways from the den. Balto and Jenna were planning to help Rasha and Gray teach her pups how to hunt and fight. They apologized to Ryker for not being able to stay for long but he simply smiled and told them it was ok and that the fact that they were there for his birthday was enough. After eating, they hung out with each other for a couple of hours before they each left to do what they planned to do for the day.

 _Are you sure you're not disappointed?_ Aurora asked with concern.

Ryker chuckled and embraced her, kissing her crest and nibbling her neck.

 _I'm not, I'm actually glad to have all of those that I care about with me on the first birthday party I had in years. Thank you, Aurora, for planning this._ he replied.

Aurora smiled and nuzzled him.

 _Time for your gift, close your eyes "Ry"._ she commanded him with a giggle.

Ryker closed his eyes and grinned.

 _Oh, don't you start too, Aurora._ he remarked jokingly.

Aurora made sure he wasn't looking and pulled out the necklace from her dimensional storage. Ryker felt the chain rest on his neck and wondered what it was.

 _Ok, you can open your eyes now!_ Aurora exclaimed excitedly.

Ryker did so and looked down at his gift. The black necklace swayed with his breathing and somehow, the seemingly sharp serrated edges didn't harm him at all. Ryker didn't say anything and all the excitement was drained from Aurora. She couldn't read his expression at all. Did he not like her gift?

 _I'm sorry, I'll get-_ she began but was cut off by something unexpected.

Black wings enveloped her in a warm hug and she felt nibbling on her neck, pleasing her sweetspots and making her close her eyes in pleasure.

 _Thank you, Aurora. This, besides you accepting my love about a year ago, is the best gift anyone has ever given me. Like our love, I'll treasure it, forever and always._ Ryker told her.

Aurora let out a few sniffles of happiness and hugged him back, attempting to bury her head in the crook of his neck. Ryker noticed this and shifted into his **Altered Form** , which gave him a height of 7 ft. Aurora giggled at this and sighed as she finally rested her head on the crook of his neck.

 _It has the same enchantments as mine but instead of water and ice, it ups your dark hellfire and darkness._ Aurora informed him with a smirk.

Ryker said nothing though his smile expressed his emotions: happy and loving. Aurora then noticed how the irises of his eyes reminded her of the surface of the moon. Pure white with his pupils resembling craters.

 **Later**

Ryker was sharpening his claws against a large boulder. He had just finished his night training and decided to sharpen his blunt fore and hind claws. Though it was his birthday, he still had some troubling thoughts in his mind.

 _Should I have wiped out that entire pack? What if word reaches-_

Ryker snapped his attention to his left and saw Demon coming up to him. Said wolf let out a toothy grin to which Ryker smiled with a nod in return.

 _How was your day so far?_ Demon asked.

Ryker stopped sharpening his claws, satisfied with his results.

 _It was delightful, one of the best days I ever had._ Ryker replied.

He turned his attention to the moon and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and exhaled then turning to see Demon with a grim expression. Ryker turned serious as well, understanding the case.

 _I already told Aniu about it. You should discuss it with her as soon as you can._ Demon stated.

Ryker nodded and in the direction of the cave, transforming into his human form as he did so.

Demon looked at the boulder Ryker used. It was covered with slash marks from the Fenrir's claws. Demo shook his head and walked towards the pond.

 _Let us hope there will be no more bloodshed._ Demon thought grimly.

 **At the cave**

Aurora woke up and yawned, stretching her limbs and angelic wings. She looked at her surroundings and saw that it was dawn and Ryker was gone.

 _Probably left the cave to do some early morning training_. she assumed.

Aurora noticed Aniu at the mouth of the cave with a grim expression. This caused the Islingr Suicune to worry and compelled her to question about it. She came up to Aniu who seemed to be focusing on something in the distance. The white wolf's irises were changing color, ranging from shades of red, to yellow, then to orange.

 _Aniu, is there something bothering you?_ Aurora asked.

Aniu snapped out of her trance and her eyes reverted to their normal yellow color. Aniu nodded in reply to Aurora's question and motioned her to take a seat.

 _We have a problem on our paws but I would like to wait for Ryker before tel-_ Aniu began.

They turned the attention to the cave entrance where footsteps were heard. Ryker stepped into their field of vision and looked at Aniu.

"Judging from your expression, I assume that it is about the battle between me and Darklent?" he asked.

Aniu nodded and Ryker found a spot in the cave to sit down. When he did so, Aniu began explaining to the both of them.

 _It seems that word has leaked and rumors of "a werewolf" taking out a whole pack has reached the ears of Deucalion._

Ryker raised a hand to his chin and thought about the situation. Aurora had no idea who "Deucalion" was and had a confused expression upon her face. Aniu, sensing the Islingr Suicune's distress, filled in the blanks.

 _Deucalion is the emperor of wolves. Not only that, but he is a pureblood werewolf. He is basically a god and is VERY powerful. Maybe to the point that he rivals Fang._

Aurora was shocked. One, a wolf emperor whose power is apparently unrivaled. Two, a wolf emperor who may be surpassing Ryker in strength?! What Aniu and Aurora did not see was Ryker's ears were twitching and he had a hidden smile of grim amusement.

 _Anyways,_ Aniu continued, _Darklent was one of Deucalion's alliances and losing Darklent was a major blow to him._

Ryker and Aurora nodded and Aniu furthered her explanation.

 _He had sent a messenger who informed us that the one who defeated Darklent is now a thorn to Deucalion's side. Deucalion wants you, Ryker, to go to him and challenge him, one on one at Lupe's Peak._

Aurora looked at Ryker who seemed to be calm despite the situation.

 _So all he wants is a normal fight?_ Aurora asked.

Aniu shook her head and her ears drooped.

 _A fight to the death and the battle itself would emit a copious amount of energy that would annihilate anything and everything nearby._ Aniu finished.

Aurora was silent, far too speechless to say anything.

"I'll go." Ryker announced.

The two looked at him incredulously, wondering if he had gone mad.

"If I don't, he'll come after us himself and I don't want to endanger the two of you or anyone else of the pack." he added.

 _No you won't!_ Aurora retorted. _We'll just stand our ground and take him on together!_

"You know I can't allow that Aurora!" Ryker yelled in frustration.

Aurora immediately cowered in fear, Ryker never used this tone of voice towards her before and she wondered if she overstepped her boundaries. Aniu was shocked as well. She didn't think Ryker would suddenly lose his calm like that. Noticing the two's expression, Ryker calmed down and continued in a quieter tone.

"You heard Lady Aniu. Anything and everything near that battle will be wiped out due to the energy it would emit. Deucalion and I most likely included if things go hectic."

Aurora shook her head and bared her fangs at him, genuinely furious at him.

 _I can't risk letting you go and get yourself killed, Ryker!_ Aurora snarled.

Ryker looked at her, then at Aniu whose expression was saddened. Reconsidering that he had no other choice, Ryker decided to convince Aurora the hard way.

"Why?" he asked in a low tone.

Aurora stopped baring her fangs and looked at him with a curious expression.

 _What do y-_

"Why the hell can't you just let me make my own decisions?!" Ryker yelled.

Aurora took a step back, not believing that he had just lashed out at her again. Aniu's eyes widened as she backed away as well.

"You're always getting in the way and putting yourself in danger for no damn reason! Why can't you just listen to me for once!" Ryker continued.

Aurora started tearing up and Aniu was about to step in but suddenly, Aurora walked up to Ryker in anger.

 _What the hell do you mean? I never got in your way! In fact, I can fend for myself just fine! Besides, YOU are the one going out of your way to protect me but I never asked you to!_ Aurora retorted.

Aniu was speechless. She wondered how heated the argument will get. Ryker started again.

"Well maybe if you didn't tag along, I wouldn't be doing that now would I?" he told Aurora.

Said legendary narrowed her eyes and bared her fangs again.

 _You know what? Screw you! How about I just leave and you just go and kill yourself? I don't give a damn anymore!_

Ryker sneered at her and waved his hands in dismissal.

"Go on then. See if I care if you leave. It's over, Aurora." he stated in finality.

Aurora froze, even more tears streamed from her face. She gave Ryker one last look before running out of the cave and towards the nearby pond.

 _Aurora!_ Aniu shouted but was in vain.

Aniu looked at Ryker with a furious look.

 _Why the hell did you do that?! You'd better-_

Aniu stopped and noticed that tears were falling from Ryker's eyes. This was the first time she ever saw him cry so she didn't know what to do. The Fenrir wiped his eyes with his sleeve and looked out towards the horizon.

"I'll leave straight away. Tell the others I said "goodbye", will you?" Ryker asked with a small smile.

Aniu said nothing and watched him leave. Ryker then disappeared. However, at the spot he was just standing on, was the circlet he planned on giving to Aurora on her birthday. It was at that moment Aniu understood and gasped out loud.

It was all an act.

 **At the pond**

Aurora was still crying and Balto as well as Jenna, Rasha, and the children, were comforting her.

 _I'm sure things will get better, Aurora._ Rasha commented sadly.

Balto said nothing, not believing that his brother would do or say anything of the sort. Jenna was laying next to Aurora, a paw on her wing. The children were sad as well and were all together in front of their mother.

 _Will Uncle Ryker come back, mom?_ Aero asked.

Rasha remained silent and Balto suddenly perked up with a false smile.

 _Of course he will come back! Don't you worry kids!_

The pups smiled and began playing with each other. Balto's expression returned to one of anger and he let out a small growl.

 _He'd better come back so I can beat the living shit out of him._ he muttered.

Aurora suddenly stopped crying and looked at her reflection in the water. She snarled and smacked the surface of the water with her paw.

 _Who cares about him? If he comes back, I'm leaving first thing._ she growled.

She vented for another few moments and stopped. They all turned to see Aniu walking towards them with something. Aniu walked up to Aurora and placed the beautiful tiara on the Islingr Suicune's crest.

 _This was supposed to be your gift for your birthday. Ryker made it the other day. He also said farewell._ Aniu stated grimly.

The others looked saddened and shocked at the same time. Aurora frowned and began to paw at her tiara.

 _I don't want this even if he left it for me. He doesn't mean anything to me anymore and I'm sure he feels the same way. He made it pretty clear this morning at the cave._ Aurora replied.

She looked at Aniu and stared at the white wolf's eyes. Aniu stared back with a sad expression. The others wondered what was happening between the two. Neither of them were speaking so maybe they were sharing images or something along those lines.

In actuality, nothing was being exchanged between the two. However, slowly but surely, Aurora's eyes widened and teared in realization.

 _No... No... No. No. No._ Aurora reiterated.

Aniu nodded slowly in confirmation, earning more tears from Aurora.

 _You're kidding. It can't be true!_ Aurora exclaimed.

The others wondered what she meant by that. Then, an idea formed in Jenna's head.

 _Say guys, you know how Aurora told us that one night that Ryker told her that he would never stop loving her? And you know how he ALWAYS does what he can to protect us?_

Their faces showed immediate understanding and surprise and they turned their heads to Aurora who was still breaking down.

 _He was acting the whole time? He didn't mean any of those things?..And he already left knowing that he will most likely die?_ Aurora choked out.

Aniu and the group did not say anything but they all knew the answer. Aurora cried harder and looked at them with anguish.

 _I told him "screw you". And if he dies, that would be the last thing I said to him._ she finished.

 **December 11th**

 _Did you find him yet?_ Aurora asked anxiously.

They were gathered around Aniu who was seated in front of a large scrying orb produced by Demon.

 _Still searching for his presence._ Aniu replied.

For about a day and a half now, they were trying to search for Ryker through the scrying orb. Aniu and Demon advised them not to go after him so they complied.

 _Wait! I think I found him!_ Aniu announced.

They all focused their attention to the scrying orb which showed a large summit covered with a couple layers of snow. They suddenly spotted a figure step into view.

 **Lupe's Peak**

Ryker pulled down his cowl and stared ahead. In meters ahead of him was his foe, Deucalion. Deucalion smirked and revealed pointed, yellow teeth.

"Why, you did come as I asked! How nice! I was starting to worry that you chickened out."

Ryker said nothing and his armor materialised. This earned a smile from Deucalion.

"Well, I noticed they called you The Alpha. What I'm seeing is a human who apparently wiped out my buddy's pack. You know why they call me the wolf emperor?"

Ryker summoned his sword in his left hand and readied himself. Deucalion continued.

"Because I am the very first werewolf to walk this planet. I also happen to be a god so what do you plan to do? I even have more than 50 women bedded a day. If anyone's The Alpha, it's me." he finished with a sneer.

Ryker smiled and let out a small chuckle.

"What am I going to do? Well, if I can break the love of my life's heart, which was the hardest thing I've ever done, I can kill you in order to protect my family." Ryker muttered in a low voice.

Deucalion stretched and suddenly, began to transform. His bones shifted and his back arched immensely. But before he got any further, he was impaled through the chest by Ryker's sword! Deucalion screamed in agony as the flames started to eat away at his flesh. He tried to pull the sword out but he was in too much pain to even move. Ryker then pulled his sword out and kicked Deucalion across the face, sending the werewolf emperor flying. Before Deucalion landed, Ryker warped behind him and with little effort, drove his sword down into former's chest and piercing the heart. Finally, Deucalion landed on the ground with Ryker standing next to him with a cold look.

"What?! How-?! I am a god!" Deucalion choked out, blood filling his lungs.

Ryker lowered his head to Deucalion's ear and let out a small growl.

"You think you can threaten me? I am The Alpha! The Alpha of Alphas! I will stop at NOTHING to do what needs to be done." Ryker stated.

Deucalion widened his eyes and frantically looked around to avoid Ryker's gaze. His blood started to pool beneath them and as it spreaded, the blood bubbled as if it was toxic. Eventually, Deucalion's breathing slowed and came to a halt moments later. Ryker withdrew his sword and continued.

"Shouldn't have left yourself open like that and transformed before we got here." Ryker muttered.

 **With Aurora and the others**

Aurora and the others were really shocked. Ryker just felled a god within seconds! The battle was over before it even started! Gray was the first to speak up.

 _What. The. Shiiiiiiiiiiit?!_ he announced when the pups were out of mental earshot.

The others cheered and Aurora gave a large smile. However, a sudden thought dawned upon her.

 _Wait,_ she told everyone, _wasn't their battle supposed to wipe out everything nearby?_

 **Lupe's Peak**

Large outputs of energy poured from Deucalion's body. Ryker took a step back to avoid getting in contact with it. The energy began warping the objects around it. After a few moments, the energy gathered into one large sphere, enveloping everything in the area. Then, the energy expanded and imploded in on itself and destroyed everything in the area. A large crater was now visible from afar and around it, a desolate wasteland devoid of life. Deucalion's body was now multiple heaps of flesh in several spots of what used to be the summit. There was no signs of Ryker at all. The only thing that was there was a red and black smear where he had been standing.

On top of that smear was his necklace which had survived the blast thanks to the enchantments. Then it disappeared and was no more like it's owner.

 **With Aurora and the others**

They looked at the scene before them, mainly on the smear where Ryker was standing They couldn't believe it. The Fenrir was no more.

 _No_ _._ Aurora stated. _He isn't dead._

Aniu frowned and concentrated on the area. For several moments, silence followed and everyone silently hoped that good news would follow. Aniu turned to them with a tear in her eye.

 _I'm sorry._ she whispered to them and walked out of the cave.

Immediately, the pups wailed that their uncle wasn't coming back. Rasha and Gray comforted them and cried a bit as well. Balto growled and blasted a tree nearby with a light attack, disintegrating it completely. Jenna sat there and silently cried and Demon, like his son, took his anger out on a boulder. Aurora said nothing and was completely drained of emotions. She left the cave and flew to the pond. When she landed, she looked at her circlet through her reflection in the water and finally . She cried and cried and cried. Her wails were ones of deep grief and sorrow. The birds around her stopped chirping and the wildlife stopped to listen. Nearby wolves of the pack simply howled to the sky though they did not know what caused her distress.

Aurora cried for several hours into the day. Eventually, she couldn't produce anymore tears due to the large amount of crying. She left and went to the cave where the White family was. Aniu was back and she was currently crying into Demon's neck. Balto and Jenna were also crying but not as heavily. Rasha was sleeping in exhaustion with her children and Gray was laying beside her.

 _He shouldn't have gone._ Aniu began. _I should have stopped him when I had the chance._

 _There was nothing you could do._ Demon retorted in a low voice.

Aurora went up to Aniu and comforted her. Demon looked at Aurora and nodded his thanks with a small sad smile. Aurora nodded back and together, they began to make the white wolf feel better.

 _I know he was like a son to you._ Aurora started. _He was my everything and like you, his death left a hole in my heart._

Aniu nodded slowly and began to calm down. Aurora continued.

 _I loved Ryker with every bit of my being. There were times where I think about being lifelong partners officially by becoming mates. But, I also think about the danger he is always fending off for us and all the things he usually do and I don't think the subject ever crossed his mind. What I do know though was that he loved everyone of the pack and would want us to move on with this new chance he has given us with the sacrifice of his life._

Aniu and Demon listened intently to Aurora, despite the fact two had known Ryker ever since he was a child, Aurora somehow seemed to know more.

 _I know moving on will be hard for all of us, but I don't think Ryker would want us to mull over his death. I probably won't be able to get over it for a while and.I don't expect anyone here would get over it in a flash. We all loved Ryker so moving on will be one of the hardest things for us to do._ Aurora finished.

 **Later in the afternoon**

Aurora walked down the path with sadness. She was still thinking about Ryker but was having a difficult time not to. She had left Aniu's cave to think over the subject on her own and yet, she still couldn't believe it. Ryker was dead and it has been several hours since. But this time was different than the time Jeanne told Aurora about Ryker's death. This time, Aurora helplessly watched him die and saw that there was nothing to indicate he was alive. Aurora was about to take flight but was suddenly ensnared by a black tendrils sprouting from the ground. She crashed to the ground and immediately became wrapped up in more tendrils.

She tried fighting her way out of these things but was suddenly interrupted by multiple small pricks to her body. The thorns of the tendrils released a small dose of their fluids and slowly, Aurora fell and became paralyzed.

Three black-red wolves emerged from the foliage nearby and they all smiled at their catch of the day.

 _We are going to beat you then use you for our own needs._ one of them stated.

 _Yes, she does have a fine body, doesn't she?_ the other asked.

 _We'll each mount one hole and rotate when we are finished._ the last announced.

Together, the three nodded and each went towards their targets. One stood in front of Aurora's mouth. The second stood behind her rump while the last flipped Aurora over and looked hungrily at her womanhood. The tendrils disappeared but Aurora's paralysis still remained. Aurora began to cry and could do nothing but to watch helplessly. Before she began to experience the rape, however, she passed out due to her mind being numb from the black tendrils.

The three dark wolves laughed and howled to the sky.

 _For Darklent!_ they announced to the world.

Right before they had the chance to enter her, one of them fell to the floor, dead and was missing a head. The other two immediately tensed up and got in a defensive position. However, one of them whined in agony as his legs was pulled out of their sockets and separated from his body. His neck was then twisted with a sickening _crack!_

The last wolf cowered in fear and tried to run away. He ran and came across a river. He jumped in and began to swim. Then, he yelped and wailed in the water as it began to boil at a high temperature. The dark wolf then gave up and eventually, his fur and skin were steaming from the boiling water which returned to its normal temperature. But by then, the dark wolf was already dead.

The one responsible for all of this walked up to Aurora, gently picked her up, and began carrying her back to the White Den.

 **Later at night**

Aurora slowly opened her eyes and looked around with great difficulty. Her mind was still slightly numb from the poison and she could move again but with great effort. She tried to sit up but stopped when she heard a conversation nearby.

 _You're leaving already?! You just came back and Aurora is in the infirmary cave right now! Aren't you at least going to see her when she's conscious?_ Aniu shouted.

Aurora's interest was suddenly peaked. Who was Aniu talking to?

 _I'm afraid seeing her may cause her more harm. Besides, she probably would rather see me dead anyway._ another voice replied.

 _Wait. That voice. Sounds familiar..._ Aurora slurred in her mind.

 _That's not true! She needs to see you right now!_ Aniu replied.

 _She's right,_ Balto chimed in, _Aurora was crying the whole day!_

 _Goodbye, all of you._ the voiced stated in monotone.

 _Monotone?_ Aurora thought and her numb was suddenly began to clear. _Wait! Monotone!_

Whatever poison that was left in her system was expelled now as Aurora jumped up from her spot and ran outside where Aniu and the rest of the group were just conversing. They all looked at her in surprise but she didn't notice since she was looking at the retreating figure. Her eyes narrowed and she bared her teeth.

 _RYKER FANG THE FENRIR!_ Aurora shouted with an angry tone.

The figure stopped and turned around. Indeed it was Ryker and his necklace was present on his neck. Aurora noticed this with a small spike of happiness but didn't skip a beat.

 _You yelled at me, broke up-no, DUMPED me, lied to me in front of Aniu, faked your death AGAIN, and saved me from being raped then leaving without saying "goodbye"?!_ Aurora snarled.

Ryker's expression was one of nervousness and "I'm screwed big time" and he raised his hands in defense.

"Now hold on, hear me o-" he began but never had the chance to finish as Aurora fired a **Hydro Pump** directly at his chest, sending him through the trees and out of sight. Aurora followed him immediately afterwards. The group was left beyond shocked.

 _Did that just happened?_ Demon asked.

 **About a few miles away**

 _You better defend yourself!_ Aurora shouted as she fired an **Ice Beam** at Ryker.

Ryker threw up a flame wall that cancelled her attack and caused steam to rise. However, this was exactly what Aurora wanted and she attacked him from behind. Ryker replied on his instincts and turned around to catch her. He did so and threw her a couple feet away. She landed on her side and got up baring her fangs.

"You left me no other choice! I was trying to protect you!" Ryker screamed to her.

 _That's not good enough!_ Aurora retorted and blasted a **Dry Maelstrom**.

Ryker covered himself in a flame dome and the attack passed harmlessly. When he dispelled it, he shot a fireball at Aurora who dodged it and shot an icicle at Ryker. Ryker didn't have time to move and was impaled in the shoulder when the attack connected. He already had a black eye, a few slashes, a large bruise on his side, and now a hole in his shoulder.

 _Why!_ Aurora cried.

The fight went on for another twenty minutes, Aurora winning while Ryker was on the defensive. Eventually, Aurora finally decided to end it all.

 _ **Arrow of the Islingr!**_ Aurora thought and a large golden arrow bathed in heavenly light appeared next to her.

 _Last chance!_ Aurora warned though Ryker said nothing.

Aurora growled and shot the arrow towards him. However, Ryker just stood his ground and Aurora had a look of horror upon her face as the arrow impaled him on the chest, knocking him unconscious due to the arrow being one of light.

 **In a cave**

Ryker opened his eyes and winced as something made contact with the small hole in his chest. He looked up to see that his chest was bare and that Aurora was curled around him with a sad look upon her face. She looked at him, eyes slightly red from crying.

 _Why?_ she asked again.

Ryker frowned and looked at her with a determined expression.

"I did it because I love you, Aurora. I did not want any danger to be near you and I knew that you weren't going to just stay at the den of I told you to. I had to trick you into staying and hating me to ensure that you wouldn't follow me. Telling you those horrible things was the hardest thing I have ever done. But, if I didn't and you followed, you would have been caught in the blast and I would have lost the only light in my world. If I lost you, I don't know if I would remain the same. I'd probably revert to being something primal and kill everything in my path. That, or I maybe would've died of depression. You are the most important part of my life, Aurora and if I lost you, I may as well go to. Just please know that I didn't mean any of those things I said before. I'd gladly risk my life for you and go out of my way for you anytime. As for you tagging along, that is like a mandatory to me so then I can at least be near you. I love you Aurora and protecting you my priority and being near you is a gift to me. The very fact that you didn't just left me to die back there means I'm lucky to be acquainted with you, Lady Islingr Suicune." he replied with a tone of respect at the end of his explanation.

He looked down at his feet and wondered how things would go from there. He then felt her tongue going over his wounds. She tended to them carefully and gently and Ryker winced as she tended to the hole in his shoulder. The bruise on his side, which he had gotten when she swatted him through another tree with her wing, didn't help either.

 _I would use my healing abilities but I drained my energy fighting you earlier._ Aurora stated.

"You don't have to do this. I deserve it." Ryker replied.

 _I want to do this._ Aurora retorted, a tear sliding down her cheek.

Ryker noticed this and reached up to her face and caressed it.

"I'm sorry, my love. Will you ever forgive me?" he asked.

Aurora felt the warmth from his hand and nuzzled her cheek against it. She then surprised him by giving him a kiss. She withdrew and giggled at his puzzled expression, a small smile present upon her face.

 _Don't. Ever. Do. That. Again._ she answered and continued to tend to his wounds.

 **With Aniu and the group**

 _There were a lot of explosions and colorful lights._ Rasha commented.

They were gathered in the cave and were wondering about the two who were no longer fighting.

 _Maybe something happened?_ Demon suggested.

 _No, Ryker wouldn't harm her. As for Aurora...she wouldn't kill him, would she?_ Aniu remarked.

Balto shrugged his shoulders and looked outside.

 _I think she could. She can definitely kill him._ he added.

They suddenly directed their attention to the mouth of the cave to see Ryker limping inside and Aurora supporting him. She helped him sit down against the cave wall and she took a seat next to him. Ryker looked to see shocked expressions upon the faces of the wolves around him.

 _You looked like you've been through hell._ Balto commented.

"A frozen one." was Ryker's reply.

This earned several laughs from the group and even Aniu had several fits. Ryker gave a small smile and flinched as Aurora stretched her wings, the attack she hit him with earlier caused him to be a bit paranoid. They noticed this and Aurora turned red from embarrassment. Jenna spoke up.

 _Why did you just-_

"Nothing, nothing at all." Ryker interrupted quickly.

 **The next day**

Aurora woke to find no one in the cave at all. She left the area and searched throughout the entire den but saw no signs of the White family or Ryker. She frowned and decided that a dip in the pond would do her well. She did so and the moment all four of her paws made contact with the water, everyone she was looking for, save for Ryker, bursted out nearby bushes in excitement.

 _Surprise! t_ hey all shouted in unison.

Aurora was definitely surprised and and Aniu who was in the front of the group as well as Demon, pointed towards a clearing. Aurora looked but saw nothing at the clearing. Suddenly, the air surrounding it shimmered and revealed a banquet and a banner made of flowers. Some of the petals were stained different colors and spelled out "Happy Birthday Aurora!" The banner had two ornamental birds on each end and beautiful lanterns hung from trees in the area.

Aurora jumped as she felt a pair of strong but gentle hands grip her shoulders.

"Happy Birthday, dear." Ryker whispered into her ears.

Aurora teared up and smiled then looked at her friends around her.

 _Thank you, all of you!_ she sobbed.

They nodded happily and began to take their seats at the table. Ryker gestured her to the head of the table and a pathway made of flowers led to her seat. Aurora was seated by Ryker and smiled as he took a seat to her right. Everyone looked at her with broad smiles and she suddenly cleared her throat.

 _I just want to say that I thank all of you for going out of your way to organise this. I also want to let you all know that this is the closest I've ever had as a family save for my brothers. I love you all!_ Aurora announced.

This earned a cheer from her friends and a quizzical look from Gray.

 _What do you mean "the closest I've ever had as a family"?_ Gray questioned.

Aurora looked at him and smiled with a small hint of sadness.

 _I am the first and only of my species in centuries. My parents were normal Suicune and told me that I was unique. One day though, the seal of the planet's core broke and they sacrificed their lives to close it. I was fifteen at the time and I stayed with two others for a while, Lord Entei and Lord Raikou, both took me in and considered me as their younger sister. Though they could be so childish sometimes._ Aurora explained.

Gray nodded in understanding and suddenly Balto made an announcement, a bowl of red wine in front of him.

 _Let's enjoy ourselves now!_ he shouted and they all began to eat and drink.

Aurora was no alcoholic but had a few sips of wine. Everyone else around her, save for the pups, had no problem with drinking though. However, it seems that only Ryker and Aniu can hold their liquor. Everyone else had already began to feel buzzed.

 _So, you're just as old as Ryker now, right?_ Demon asked.

Aurora nodded and Demon let out a low chuckle.

 _Ahh, love. Anyways Ryker?_ Demon questioned.

Ryker raised an eyebrow and took a sip from his glass.

"Yes, Lord Demon?" Ryker replied.

Demon lowered his head and whispered though everyone at the table was able to hear.

 _If you're worried about being the last of your species, you shouldn't. I'm sure in time you will have pups of your own, half Islingr Suicune and half Fenrir. Actually, that would be an amazing sight to see._

Ryker choked on his wine due to the sudden statement and Aurora turned bright pink. This earned fits of laughter from the rest of the group and a hearty chuckle from Demon.

 _What? Is there something wrong with having pups?_ Demon asked.

Ryker shook his head immediately and gave a warm smile that made Aurora want to melt right there.

"It's not that but I would love to start a family with Aurora. However, it would be her choice and it is only when she feel like she is ready is when we'll become mates." he stated.

This earned drunken "awws" from the group and an approving nod from Demon. Aurora felt really happy and was warm to the core. If there wasn't a table covered in food right now, she would have dove at Ryker and drowned him in kisses.

 **An hour or so later**

 _Gifts now!_ Rasha announced and they all lined up before Aurora. Said Islingr Suicune was surprised by the fact that they all actually got her something. Balto and Jenna stepped up first and presented a silver dress that had an image of a large wave on the front and back. Also, when the dress moved, the wave actually moved according to the way the dress was shifted.

 _Thanks, you two._ Aurora told them and hugged the two wolves.

Balto and Jenna smiled before stepping off to the side for Gray, Rasha, and the pups.

 _The pups helped us make this as well._ Rasha remarked as Gray presented a star-shaped sapphire with what looks like an icicle in the center.

Beneath it, it read "We love you, Auntie Aurora!". Aurora smiled broadly and awwed at the little message that was obviously engraved by the children.

 _Thanks guys! And thanks you three!_ Aurora announced and hugged them each individually.

Last in line was Demon and Aniu who stepped up with wide smiles.

 _We hope you like it._ Aniu remarked.

 _It took us a while to make it._ Demon added.

Aurora's eyes widened as they presented a beautiful mirror with a amethyst frame. The gem frame had studded sapphires and diamonds covered the handle. The mirror itself was completely spotless and actually glowed with energy.

 _This will allow you to reveal any evil in an individual and can help you determine whether or not he/she could be trusted._ Demon explained.

Aurora immediately hugged them both and thanked them with full gratitude. They nodded and the group looked at Ryker who scratched his head with a mareepish smile.

"Well, you see, we kind of have to wait until later to see it." he explained.

This earned a look of curiosity and wonder from everyone especially Aurora save for Aniu who smiled slyly. Aurora looked at Ryker with an intense stare.

 _Why do we have to wait until later?_ she asked.

Ryker shook his head and casually took a sip from his glass.

 _How the hell is he not drunk yet? I'm sure the hell am! I swear to ass I'm going to kick someone's god if I don't see him get drunk._ Demon thought to himself.

Ryker put down the glass and gave an innocent look to Aurora.

"We just have to wait until later. I can't say anything more than that." he stated.

Aurora sighed but smiled. This was the best b-day party she have ever had and everything is going so well. Waiting a bit for a present shouldn't be too hard.

 _What should we do until then?_ Scarlet asked.

Aero and Violet perked up at this.

 _Tug of War and tag!_ they announced in unison earning small laughter from the group.

They decided for all of them to go on a casual run around the area. The route they were taking was about ten miles so it wasn't hard for any of them. When they began, Aniu and Balto took the lead followed by Aurora, then Demon, Rasha, Gray, the pups, Jenna, then Ryker holding up the rear. It was a slow casual jog so no one had to push themselves to catch up.

Balto looked behind him and gave a toothy smile to Ryker who vaulted over a fallen tree.

 _Hey Ryker! I know you can do better than that! Afraid that if you're up here I might ask you for a race to which you lose?_

A smile made its way on Ryker's face as he sped up effortlessly. He jumped over fallen trees and maneuvered around pits while surprising the group with his agility and speed in his human form. Eventually, he caught up with Balto and gave a sly smile.

"First out of the two of us to reach the den is a runt pup." Ryker challenged as he slid under a tree trunk.

Balto jumped over the trunk instead of sliding under but in the end, they both were still running without breaking speed.

 _Let's do it then!_ Balto announced and sped off towards their destination.

The others shook their heads since they knew another race was going on but were surprised when Ryker suddenly stopped and stretched his limbs.

 _What are you doing? Aren't you losing right now?_ Jenna asked as they ran past him.

When they did, they turned their heads to see Ryker suddenly in his Fenrir form running towards them at a blinding speed. He blurred past them, leaving behind flaming paw prints and caught up with Balto easily.

Ryker ran past Balto, who at the time was blinking, and disappeared towards the direction of the den. Balto, since he blinked, didn't notice that Ryker ran past him so he continued running while smiling without a care.

The group laughed at this and continued running. Scarlet, Violet, and Aero soon got tired so Rasha decided to let them ride on her back. However, Aurora came up to her with an offer.

 _Why don't they ride on my back? I can fly around with them and I'm sure it will be fun._ Aurora proposed.

The children got excited at this and started to pester their mother a bit.

 _Can we mother? Can we? Pleeeeeeeeeeeease?!_ they asked.

Rasha smiled and nodded, earning cheers from her offspring. She and Aurora stopped running and the pups jumped from Rasha's back to Aurora's.

 _Be careful with them alright?_ Rasha warned with a chuckle before running off to catch up with the others.

Aurora nodded and looked at the three pups and smiled.

 _Are you ready you guys?_ she asked.

 _Yes, Auntie Aurora!_ they replied excitedly and held on to her to get secured.

Aurora nodded and tensed her body. She then unfurled her wings and and ran for about several meters. She then jumped and took flight, flapping her wings majestically. The children were awed by their surroundings and laughed whenever they flew up close to a bird.

 _Wow look at that! Or that! Wow we're so high up!_ the pups commented as Aurora climbed higher into the air.

 _Then you should see your uncle more often when he's out training._ Aurora commented. _He always go for runs and flights as parts of his training regimen._

The pups nodded at this but were quickly distracted by the incoming clouds and birds. Aurora maneuvered around each obstacle gracefully and skillfully throwing in a few barrel rolls and the like. She was careful not to drop the pups but didn't have to worry since they grasped her hide quite tightly but not painfully. Aurora turned her head to look at their faces which were filled with joy and awe. She smiled and allowed a small fantasy to present itself in her mind.

 _I want our lives to be like this but with our own pups.._ Aurora thought to herself wistfully as she lowered herself in altitude a bit.

Eventually, their exercise ended and they all gathered at the cave to rest for a bit. Balto was moping in a corner with Jenna trying to comfort him for his loss at the race. Aniu and Demon were playing with the pups while giving Rasha and Gray a break as they slept. Aurora was with Ryker in the back of the cave trying to gain information out of him.

 _It's almost afternoon, do I get to see it now?_ she asked while giving a pleading look.

Ryker chuckled and shook his head while polishing his canines with his rough tongue.

 _You'll have to wait a little bit longer, Aurora._ he replied.

Aurora playfully pouted and Ryker gave her a questioning look.

 _Is there someplace you want to go on your birthday today? Anything you would like to have or do?_ he offered.

Aurora thought for a moment before answering. She considered karaoke again but dismissed it as she thought about the amount of times they have already done it. She then gasped as an idea formed within her mind. Ryker saw her excitement and wondered what she was about to suggest. He couldn't read her mind, of course, since that was disrespectful and probably earn him a tongue lashing.

 _Why don't we go on a date again? Last time was certainly a great experience!_ she suggested.

Ryker smiled and was about to comply but Aurora cut him off.

 _No wait. I rather spend my time with all of you in my first birthday party in a while._ she stated with a smile.

Ryker thought about this for a moment and shook his head.

 _How about this? Why don't we go on a date tonight and leave the den to someplace nice? For now, we could just hang around here and enjoy ourselves until then?_ Ryker told her with a small hint of encouragement.

Aurora beamed and nodded at this before giving him a quick kiss on his cheek. Ryker returned the favor and together, they went to the mouth of the cave to see everyone conversing about the day's events.

 _Hey Aurora! Come here for a sec._ Rasha called.

Aurora smiled and walked over to her. Ryker was about to follow but Rasha stopped him.

 _Wait, Ry. This only concerns her and you can't know about it._ she said in a stern tone.

At this, Ryker shrugged his shoulders and went outside to get a quick drink of water. When he did, everyone snickered with evil intent. Aurora was curious and wondered what was going on but Rasha quickly informed her.

 _Why don't we make Ryker scared for your birthday? We never seen him afraid our entire lives! Have you?_

Aurora thought about it and shook her head with a hint of amusement and mischievous intent.

 _No, but I would like to see you guys try and scare him._ Aurora replied.

Aniu perked up at this and spoke up with a sly tone.

 _Oh, we were thinking about this for a while and I think I have a way to do it. And it includes Demon's skills of illusions along with Jenna's incredible acting including my children._

Aurora laughed at this and nodded before they all gathered in a huddle to prepare for Ryker's scare.

 **About ten min later...**

Ryker came back to the cave, his thirst for water quenched. He looked around and noticed everyone had a serious look upon their faces.

 _Is there something wrong?_ he asked the group but noticed Aurora was gone.

Jenna walked up to him and handed him an object. He grabbed it and widened his eyes when he saw it was Aurora's necklace. For a few moments, he said nothing and all that could be heard were the snoring of the sleeping pups who were tired from their earlier playtime. Ryker turned the necklace over in his paw, an unreadable expression upon his face.

 _Why-_ Ryker began but never got the chance to finish his sentence.

 _She left! When you left the cave earlier, she broke down and told us everything!_ Jenna exclaimed, anger flaring from her being.

Ryker backed up and was entirely speechless. Jenna continued with her verbal onslaught.

 _She said that she couldn't take it anymore. She told us that she was always in danger around you and she also told us that she doesn't even feel love from you! Before she left, she told us that there was another she knew who was a good friend to her in the past so she went to him. Lastly, she told us to tell you goodbye._

Silence filled the air and Rasha got up from her spot giving Ryker a scowl.

 _How could you, brother? How could you break her heart like that? Why did you abandoned her?_

Ryker shook his head and took a step back. Balto got up as well and got right up in Ryker's face.

 _Don't believe it, Ryker? Well then what's that in your paw?! Would she really take that off and would we ever lie to you?_ Balto asked with a furious glare.

Aniu and Demon were next to step up to him. Demon growled while Aniu lashed out at Ryker.

 _We actually thought you would keep your promises to her, Ryker! Well obviously we were wrong and it must have been so hard for her to keep those emotions bottled up before opening up to us like she did!_ Aniu reprimanded.

The only one who didn't speak was Gray but that was only because he wanted to stay out of the prank.

Ryker looked down to the cave floor, unable to say a word to any of them. Jenna spoke up again.

 _Oh NOW you feel guilty! It's a wonder you actually have a heart after what you had done to her._ she scorned.

For a few minutes, all was quiet. Rasha and the others wondered how would he react to the false information they had given him. Suddenly, a low growl could be heard from Ryker and he lifted his head for them to see his eyes bathed in a red light.

 _I-I-rooooaaaaaaaaaagh!_ Ryker bellowed, causing rocks and debris to fall from the roof of the cave.

The others were startled by this and quickly ran out of the cave in fear. Rasha tried to grab her children as well but was crushed along with her pups by the rocks. The remaining wolves stared in horror and the other wolves of the pack were running around in a frenzy. Suddenly, Jenna was enveloped by black flames and were immediately devoured by them.

 _Jennaaaaaaa!_ Balto howled in agony as he watched her form disintegrate into nothing.

 _We went too far! We have to run!_ Aniu shouted while escaping with Demon.

Balto let a fountain of tears fall before running after them. All of a sudden, the cave exploded in a flurry of flames and shadows. When they dispersed, a giant version of Ryker towered over them, his large teeth glistening with the sun's glare. Aniu, Demon, and Balto watched in horror as Ryker bathed the den in a torrent of hellfire, effectively killing off many packmembers and other forest life. A helicopter came in view but it exploded as a tendrils of darkness pierced it.

 _Ryker! Stop this!_ Demon shouted only for Ryker to ensnare him with shadows.

Trapped, Demon tried to escape but all of his efforts was in vain as Ryker crushed him with a paw. Gore and a shower of blood sprayed from that spot and covered the ground around where he used to be intact.

 _Demoooooon!_ Aniu cried as Balto grabbed her and moved her away.

Balto was crying even harder now, not only the love of his life and sister along with her pups were dead, but now his father too? Finally, Aniu gave in and followed Balto out of the forest where they thought it was safe and stopped. They turned around to see Ryker demolishing everything in the area, wiping out lives in merely seconds. Ryker suddenly disappeared and reappeared in front of Aniu and Balto, narrowing his eyes at the two of them.

 _.Die._ Ryker snarled as he lifted them both with shadows.

The two wolves of light tried to break free but their resistance was futile. The dark bonds were just too strong and were impossible to break. They were lifted slowly to the front of Ryker's muzzle where he bathed them in a stream of fire and devoured their charred corpses...

 _I think they had enough and I think you overdid it, Ryker._ Aurora said while she sweatdropped.

Ryker looked at her and shrugged his shoulders before releasing everyone in the cave from his **Eternal Hell** attack. Each of the victims slowly regained consciousness and looked around in shock and saw a smiling Ryker in his human form. The only ones who didn't were Gray and the pups who were spared by Ryker's horrifying attack. Aniu was the first to regain her composure.

 _What the hell?! How are we not dead? And why is it that you are smiling Ryker?_ she gasped, horror still flowing through her veins.

The rest of them looked at him for an explanation and he raised his hand in defense.

"Ok, first of all, you guys tried to trick me. If anything, that was all your fault. Anyways, I noticed when Jenna handed me the necklace, something was definitely wrong." he explained as he looked at Demon.

"Your illusion skills are impressive but you have to remember who I am, I won't be fooled by any means of trickery." Ryker continued. Ryker stretched and hugged Aurora with one arm. He then continued with his explanation. "Afterwards, I immediately detected Aurora with a downdraft breeze and she in turn was caught and told me everything about your plan. So, I caught you all in one giant illusion and what you experienced was all fake. The scenes were very vivid though, weren't they?"

For a few moments, no one replied. Balto was in the fetal position next to Jenna who was still pale. Rasha was hugging her pups who were still asleep. Aniu and Demon shooked their heads fiercely but Demon was the one who spoke up.

 _When exactly did you realize it was all just an act?_ he asked, his curiosity peaked.

Ryker narrowed his eyes and lifted the real necklace around Aurora's neck.

"When Jenna handed me the necklace, I turned it around and found it was missing one thing."

Ryker turned the necklace around to reveal a small poem engraved in the back. It read:

The day you came into my life

 _everything changed;_

 _you brought happiness,_

 _you brought hope,_

 _you brought contentment._

 _And most of all,_

 _you brought love;_

 _a love so amazing,_

 _a love so powerful,_

 _a love too beautiful_

 _to ever be defined._

 _The day you came into you life_

 _you gave me everything,_

 _and I'll love you always_

Aurora widened her eyes at the poem. That wasn't there before at all! How could she not have noticed it? She looked at Ryker who had a smile on his face.

"I engraved it into the necklace just this morning for Aurora's birthday. So all in all," Ryker narrowed his eyes and his face turned serious, "do NOT do that again."

Aniu and the others quickly nodded and Rasha let out a mareepish chuckle which lightened the mood.

 _Well, I guess we deserved that._ she announced earning laughter from the group.

"Oh, so I take it you weren't fazed by my illusion?" Ryker asked with a hint of mischief.

 _Please don't do it again!_ they pleaded as he laughed jokingly.

 **Later**

Aurora read the poem over and over again. Eventually, tears found their way into her eyes and she started to cry in joy.

 _I absolutely love him with my entire being!_ she thought with ecstasy.

She was currently in her anthromorphic form and was donning the new dress that was given to her for her birthday. She wore silver dress heels that were actually comfortable to wear that had a silver flower at the toe area. She was standing in front of the group and they marveled at her beauty. Rasha admitted to herself that she was pretty jealous of the former's beauty and vowed to become that beautiful one day. They were at the edge of the forest by the Viridian City and the sun was soon setting.

 _And WHERE is Ryker?_ Balto asked only to be answered by the sound of footsteps.

They all turned and gasped at the sight. Aurora was shocked as well and blushed at what she saw. Ryker was dressed in an halfway up buttoned black denim jacket and the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows with the collar popped up. Like before, his gloves remained but his travel jeans were replaced with dark grey normal straight/slim ones. His hair wasn't altered but was now naturally spiked upwards though not too much. His t-shirt on the inside was grey unlike the jacket and slightly showed his muscles underneath. His necklace still hung from his neck and he wore a black leather belt that had an "A" on the buckle. His shoes were black Kenneth Cole Reaction (men's cap-tivate captoe oxford) dress shoes that gleamed in the sun. Aurora noted that he still smelled like natural wildfire smoke instead of that new clothes smell.

Ryker walked up to Aurora and straightened her circlet and tiara that rested on her small crest. When it was straight, he took a step back and noticed everyone was staring at him. He was getting pretty uncomfortable at all the attention and quickly asked a question.

"Is there something on my face?" he asked hoping that they would all stop staring.

 _Jeez are you trying to attract celebrities, Ryker?_ Jenna asked.

 _Or supermodels?_ Rasha chimed in.

Ryker looked at Aurora with a questioning look and shrugged his shoulders. Aurora blushed even more and looked at her feet.

"Well, you do look really nice, Ryker. Ok, you look EXTREMELY more handsome in those clothes though even without them you'd still look really attractive." Aurora admitted while turning pink.

Balto snickered and Demon caught on to why the wolf did so.

 _Are you saying that you'd bet that he would look good naked, Aurora?_ Demon asked while laughing hardly with the others.

Aurora turned completely red and hid her face behind Ryker. Ryker sighed and smiled as he wrapped an arm around Aurora's.

"Shall we go then?" he asked.

Aurora recovered from her embarrassment and excitedly nodded her head. Together, they left towards the city and out of the wolves' view.

 _Wait, what about his present to her?_ Gray asked the group.

Aniu smiled and answered for them to avoid letting them go and pester the couple.

 _We'll see it tonight, don't worry._ she told them and looked at the sky.

 **At a restaurant some time later**

Ryker and Aurora were finishing up their food and were currently talking about evolutions and the like, specifically, mega evolutions. Aurora was currently focusing on her own species and possible outcomes.

"So in all, do you think I have a mega-evolution, Ryker?" she asked before taking a sip from her wine.

Ryker thought about it for a moment before replying, making sure to keep track of time. Though his gift to her can be seen at night, he wanted to take her somewhere as well.

"I'd say you probably don't as most Legendaries do not. If anything, your **Battle Form** is your mega-evolution but I really don't think you have one. Who knows? Maybe you do have a mega-evolution and if that were to be the case, then you'd have to unlock your full potential before fully mastering it." he concluded while shifting in his uncomfortable seat.

Aurora nodded in understanding and smiled. She thought about how he was so knowledgeable about many of the things in the world. However, a thought came to mind and she was actually rather excited to ask him about it.

"Do YOU have a mega-evolution/ **Battle Form** Ryker? I know you're not a pokemon but I'm just super curious." Aurora questioned with a smile.

At this, Ryker inwardly winced and finished the rest of his beverage. He looked at her with a frown and held her hand with affection. Aurora was suddenly worried about how was he going to go about it but was relieved when he gave her a reassuring smile.

"Let's hope it would never come to that. I haven't done that in a while and last time, it was triggered by immense rage, even worse than the time when I wiped out the people of Zenith." he told her with a low voice.

Aurora nodded and she looked out the nearby window to see the sun setting quite beautifully. There were vibrant colored clouds due to the coloration of the orange sky and combined with the red-orange sun, it was simply breathtaking. Ryker stood up from his seat and held out one of his hands with a smile.

"Ready to go, my birthday lover?" he asked letting out a small chuckle.

Aurora snapped to attention and gave him one of her best smiles before taking his hand. She got out of her seat and Ryker left the bill as well as a tip at the table. Together, they walked out of the expensive restaurant and Ryker led her out of the city and onto a large hill where flowers grew and a river flowed. He sat down at the center of the hill and Aurora followed suit. She transformed back into her **Altered Form** and rested her fore legs and chest on Ryker's lap.

 _Where are we? And shouldn't we get back to the den before it gets too late?_ Aurora asked her loving Fenrir.

Ryker shook his head and hugged her with one of his arms. With the other, he gestured towards the sky and let out a content sigh.

"This is where I made your gift Aurora. And don't worry about the time, the others will know we're fine." he told her. Aurora nodded and gestured to her tiara to which Ryker shook his head with a laugh. "No, not that one. THIS one took an enormous amount of my energy to perform. Remember the day you came to me and stepped on me because you couldn't see me?" he asked.

Aurora smiled and a little giggle escaped her. She recovered though and nuzzled his neck.

 _I do remember. Your hide completely hid your body in the shadows of the cave._ Aurora responded in a matter-of-fact tone.

Ryker nodded and continued his explanation to her while returning his gaze to the sky.

"Well, after that battle with Darklent, I remembered that your birthday was drawing near and went to where we are at now to create your gift. When I was finished, I came back to the den before anyone noticed I was missing and fell asleep in the cave."

Aurora arched an eyeridge and gave him a questioning look and asked him with a curious tone.

 _What did you do to drain that much energy to the point of you passing out?_

Ryker pointed to the sky again and this time, it was no longer orange and the moon was beginning to rise. Aurora looked at the direction he was pointing towards but did not notice anything out of place. Then, her eyes widened as she noticed a patch of the night sky was missing some stars where other spots had numerous quantities of them.

"Do you notice where that one spot is bare and is devoid of stars?" Ryker asked suddenly.

She gave him an incredulous look to which he responded to with a smile. He cleared his throat and began to explain to her.

"You see, I put a blanket of darkness over it to hide your gift. I didn't want you to notice it before tonight. Now, you can see why it was worth it to use up all that energy that day."

Aurora was about to question him but he waved his hand in a strange way and pointed towards the sky again. Aurora looked at where he was pointing again and nearly fainted in surprise. She let a few tears fall before completely breaking down. There, on the sky, shining brighter than every other star in the sky, was a constellation of her in flight with her necklace giving off a blue shine like the stars that were her eyes.

 _What-How-Did you-?_ Aurora stuttered, completely flabbergasted and finding it difficult to speak at the moment.

Ryker laughed and beamed at her while giving her a full hug that warmed her to the core.

"It may cause some scientists to go crazy but oh well. Happy Birthday, Aurora." he told her lovingly.

Aurora was completely speechless and continued to cry into his shoulders. She subconsciously enveloped him with her wings and he responded by stroking her back and kissing her on her crest. Eventually, Aurora couldn't contain it anymore and kissed Ryker with full force. Ryker returned the kiss and together, they enjoyed themselves for the rest of the beautiful night.

 **With Aniu and the others**

 _Bastard! He always have to one-up us, am I right?_ Balto exclaimed earning smiles from the rest of the group, making sure the pups didn't hear him.

They saw the constellation from the den but not as well as Ryker and Aurora did from their spot. Demon suddenly let out a low growl and began to stomp away.

 _Dad? Where are you going?_ Rasha asked with laughter.

 _I'm about to move some planets to make your mother even happier!_ Demon shouted earning laughter from the group and a roll of the eyes from his mate. Aniu got up and followed Demon while planning to stop him on this herculean task.

 _Don't do it,_ Jenna exclaimed with a giggle, _you might end up disrupting gravity or something even more drastic!_

The pups looked at the sky, wondering what was the fuss was all about, and gasped in awe.

 _Wow! Auntie Aurora is in the sky!_ Violet exclaimed earning nods of agreement from the other two.

On that night, some individuals in the city heard howling and cries of laughter from the forest. Others noticed that there was a warm and affectionate aura that was given off by a nearby mountain. All they know that this night was definitely one to remember and they were going to live in the moment.


	13. Chapter 13

**SPECIAL CHAPTER ALERT! 71 PAGES!**

 _ **"Wolf packs function as families. Everyone has a role, and if you act within the parameters of your role, the whole pack succeeds, and when that falls apart, so does the pack. In the end, it all comes down to the Alpha, whose role is to lead the pack, either to their success or to their downfall. If the Alpha cannot perform his/her role in the pack, then there is no pack and all remains of hope may might as well vanish and become angst with total failure."**_

 **Chapter 13: Special Forces Squadron 5: Oblivion**

 **Several Days Later...**

Ryker and Aurora were talking to Balto, Rasha, and Aniu about the pack's status and stability. So far, things were going well and nothing major had turn up yet.

 _Do you ever think about the pack's size. Or what happens when it gets really big?_ Aurora asked Aniu who smiled at the question.

 _Well of course. If the population gets too large, we'll either split up the pack in branches or just simply announce that there is to be no mating until we can figure something out or until a certain amount of us should happen to leave the pack or fall in battle._ she replied.

At this, Balto's ears drooped and he lowered himself to the floor.

 _I hope it doesn't come down to the former, I don't want to split up. I hope it doesn't come to the last option either. Dad, what do you think should happen?_

They turned their heads to see Demon entering the cave, picking his teeth for remaining flesh with his tongue. Demon then sat next to Aniu and tapped his claws on the cave floor in a rhythmic matter.

 _Hmm. Should the pack gets over populated, I'll take some with me the next time I leave to do my job as a gatherer of tainted souls. I can use the extra help and I guess we can rotate those who want to assist._ he informed making a smile form on Balto's muzzle.

Rasha, however, remained concerned and gave her father a sad look. She whimpered and her ears drooped as well.

 _When's the next time you're leaving father? Do you have to leave soon?_

Demon gave her a reassuring smile and nuzzled her. She calmed under his parental care and Aniu smiled with a tinge of sadness. Ryker gave a sad smile too and Aurora was crestfallen as well.

 _I have to leave next week so don't worry, I still have more time to spend with you. Oh and my visiting span is going to shorten. From now on, I'll be visiting more often and I'll visit at least three to four times a month._ He informed his mate and children.

At this, Rasha beamed and hugged him as well as Balto. Aniu got up and joined in on the group hug as well, happy that she was going to see her mate a lot more often.

"Usually, they only see him once in two months or not at all sometimes." Ryker informed Aurora. "It's great that he gets to spend more time with his-no, our family."

Aurora smiled and nodded, enjoying the heartwarming scene before them. Ryker was right, it was nice to see them happy like this. However, this caused Aurora to be concerned about Ryker who's smiling but she noticed that his eyes tell that he was detached from the world and a little unconsciously pained.

 _Does it hurt him to see this when his own parents are no longer in the world? Oh Ryker..._ Aurora thought to herself with sadness as she kissed his cheek though it wasn't enough to get a response from him.

Later, they were all enjoying their lunch in a clearing not far from the den. Gray and Rasha were sharing stories about their adventures in Hoenn and her pups adding small details here and there. Apparently, there was a point where Gray was fighting off a Graveler, at the last moment, used **Explosion** and nearly killed him. The Graveler ran away, leaving Gray to roll around trying to put out the fire burning on his back.

 _It's okay, you didn't see it coming and that was a cowardly move made by the boulder thing._ Rasha comforted him as he sulked about his loss.

This earned quiet snickers from a few of the group (mainly Balto and Demon) and caused Rasha to give them a scary look to which they responded to by freezing and staying still as if to avoid getting her attention. Jenna shook her head with a smile and looked at Ryker and Aurora with curiosity. Ryker prepared to tell a story since that's what he predicted to happen when Jenna asks.

 _Can you two tell us about one of your adventures or anything exciting?_ Jenna asked as expected by Ryker.

Aurora looked at Ryker and gave him a "YOU think of one" look. Ryker sighed and rubbed his chin, scratching his triangle tipped light beard. After a few moments of thought, he finally came up with one.

"There was a point where I was still a pup. I was five and had already mastered transforming into a human disguise. I went with my parents and traveled to check out Kanto for fun. This was the first time I've ever been to Kanto and at first, I didn't like it but as a day or two went by, I came to enjoy it. One day, when I went out for a little run in my human form, I encountered a larger than normal Tyranitar who was apparently looking for something, or someONE, as I soon figured out later." he began.

This drew the attention of the group immediately and already their curiosity and interest were piqued. Aurora arched a ridge (like cocking an eyebrow) on her head and thought to herself silently.

 _Why does this sound so familiar?_ she wondered and decided to just listen to the rest of Ryker's story to find out why.

Ryker sensed her anxiety and continued while treading carefully. He did not know why she was distressed and thought maybe she had a thing against Tyranitars.

"He was actually looking for two people named, "Tsunami and Wake." I knew this because his thoughts were erratic and all over the place. He also emitted a dangerous and dark aura that meant that he was under the influence of maybe a demon or something like that."

At this, Aurora nearly shouted in surprise. How did he know about her parents and the Tyranitar possessed by IT? Ryker noticed the spike of her heartbeat and gave her a worried look. He rubbed her back and hoped he had done nothing wrong.

"What's the matter, Aurora? Is there something you would like to tell us?" he asked.

Aurora lowered her head and pawed at the ground, tracing circles and other random images.

 _Were Tsunami and Wake targeted by the Tyranitar because he wanted to prevent them from doing something?_ she replied by asking.

Ryker frowned and nodded slowly, his eyes turning hard and he became hesitant.

"Yes..and at the time, I knew he was up to no good and I knocked him out. Next thing I knew, I saw a large amount of water flow out of a cave nearby and someone told me "Thank you. Now we can go and see if we can activate the seal." and disappeared. How did-?"

 _Tsunami and Wake were my parents and they were looking for some relics to activate the seal. Wait, that means you saved us Ryker!_ Aurora cutted in, earning looks of surprise from the group.

Ryker was the most surprised out of all of them but quickly regained his composure and smiled.

"Small world indeed, I guess." he remarked hugging Aurora with an arm.

Aurora smiled but Aniu stepped up to question her and cleared her throat.

 _What was the seal for then, Aurora?_ the snow white wolf asked.

Aurora gave a sad smile before replying to the she-alpha of the pack.

 _The seal was to prevent the Distortion World from breaking and to leak into our world of the living. You see, the seal was weakening and a dark soul escaped and possessed that Tyranitar to stop my parents. We succeeded of course about a decade later but in the end, a soul escaped the Distortion World at the last minute and took the form as a giant Dragonite. My parents defeated him but died protecting me so their souls were granted passage to the Realm of Peace._ she explained causing further shock among the group.

 _I'm sorry for bringing it up._ Aniu quickly apologized but Aurora smiled and waved her paw telling her that it was ok.

They finished their meals and waited a bit for the food to digest. Balto was playing with the pups and Aurora suddenly grew weary since she stayed up with Jenna and Rasha the night prior. All of a sudden, she jumped in surprise as what sounded like a phone beeped twice. This caught the attention of others and they were surprised to see Ryker pull out a sleek black phone with an "A" engraved on the back. Jenna noted that the phone was a custom made smart phone.

 _You have a phone, Ry?_ Rasha asked while getting a closer look at it.

"Only for emergencies and important calls." Ryker replied.

 _Why is it emitting a strange energy?_ Demon asked.

Ryker smiled and pointed at the back of the phone.

"I've embedded a chip that would not let a normal human see the screen when it's turned on for security reasons. If a human were to look at this while I'm, let's say, texting (which I rarely do), all he/she would see is a black screen. Only me, all of you, and other beings with advanced eyesight can see through the distortion and see the screen." he explained earning a look of awe from the others.

Suddenly, Ryker frowned as he read the notification on his phone. His face then turned serious and he gave Balto a stern look.

"SF is calling us back, Balto. And I don't think they'll take no for an answer."

All playfulness left Balto's expression and he turned just as serious. He padded up to Ryker and stared at him with a hard look.

 _Gleaming Jade again? Or is it something else?_ Balto asked, his voice cold and stern like Ryker's.

"The former. Seems like they appeared again but this time, they assassinated General Hrothgar." Ryker replied.

A moment of silence was shared between the two. Everyone else was wondering what they were talking about and who were SF. Aurora prodded Ryker with her nose and gave him a concerned look. She also looked at Balto and arched a ridge.

 _What are you two talking about? Is there something wrong?_ she asked, asking the question that was in everyone's, save for Ryker's and Balto's, mind.

Ryker looked at her, his expression remained the same and it worried her some levels.

"The military wants us back immediately. As for the rest, it's classified, sorry. Let's go Balto." Ryker stated.

Balto nodded and transformed into his human form, sporting a casual grey jacket and a blue t-shirt along with black jeans.

"Let's go then, Ryker. I wouldn't want to keep them waiting." Balto replied, earning a nod from Ryker.

 _Wait, you two are leaving now?!_ Aniu exclaimed, worried about the two and still trying to process the information.

Balto turned around and gave an apologetic look. He walked up to each and everyone of them giving each a hug and a goodbye, Ryker doing the same thing.

 _But we don't want you to go!_ the pups cried and tried to grab him but were held back by their mother who was also crying.

"I'm sorry all of you but we have to. If not, they will come here themselves and who knows how far they'd go to get us back." Ryker stated while looking at the horizon.

 _Then I'm coming with you._ Aurora interrupted.

"Absolutely not, Aurora. It's a WAR out there and you're not properly trained to go into military combat like that in anthro form." Ryker objected.

 _Then give me a few months to train and who knows, I may move up some ranks and end up with you._ she retorted.

"Ryker's right. It's hell out there and you're going to have to kill or be killed. Not only that, but the training will be harsh and even if you pass the physical and mental exam, you may not even get accepted." Balto interjected with a frown.

Aurora gave them each a malevolent glare and transformed into her anthromorphic form, donning a sweater and jeans that emphasized her curves.

"I'm going with you two and that's FINAL." she restated and looked at the two of them, daring them to challenge her.

Balto raised both hands in defense and backed away while Ryker frowned and thought for a few seconds. Finally, he came upon a decision though it was quite one-sided.

"*sigh* Fine, you can go and I'll see what I can do to get you enlisted. You're lucky they accept pokemon too though you'll be in your anthromorphic form the whole time like the rest. But no one else though." Ryker announced repeatedly but with a stern tone as he scanned the rest of them.

After some teary goodbyes and a few threats of haunting from Jenna if they didn't came back, Ryker, Balto, and Aurora left Viridian Forest and Ryker led them to a parking lot seven stories high. Ryker led them to an elevator and they stepped inside. It was rather awkward in the elevator as it played its music however.

"I wanna be, the very best like no one ever was!

To catch 'em all is my real test, to train them is my cause!"

They stepped out of the elevator on the fifth floor where there was a desolate parking lot before them.

"What are we doing here? Can't we just fly or run to the area? It would be much faster." Aurora asked.

Ryker led them down the lot while Balto shook his head.

"We have to get there by a military registered vehicle. Besides, they don't know I'm a wolf and that Ryker's a Fenrir." Balto remarked while speeding up to catch up to them. "But where are we going to get one anyways?" Balto added, asking Ryker who was leading them around a corner.

Aurora was curious as well. Did Ryker have a vehicle of his own that they didn't know of? Finally, they came to a stop in front of a wall. Ryker walked up to it a punched three different pints of the wall, making it shudder when he did so. Three bricks were punched in and what sounded like a locking mechanism was heard. Suddenly, the wall split down the middle and opened up. Ryker took out a ring that had some keys attached to it and pressed a button.

A _chirp!_ sounded and Balto and Aurora widened their eyes when they peered inside the opened wall. A muscle car that resembles the Mustang Mach 1 rested inside. It had tinted windows that were nearly pitch black and a hood scoop. The rims were a dark-silver like other cars but in the center had a tribal wolf head. Same goes for the emblem in front and the back. Inside were black seats and some sort of system on the center. The headlights were shaped like sideways triangles pointing inwards though the top side was longer than the bottom which was longer than the one on the side. Sideskirts were applied to the car and two exhaust pipes, one on each side, sprouted from the back of the car. The car had a small spoiler that added a aerodynamic look to the car.

"How did you get-wait, don't answer. I'm sure you didn't steal it or anything but I bet you had it custom made like that phone of yours." Balto remarked to which Ryker nodded.

"This is my custom-made car which I only use on business meetings with humans. It's the Zero-type Fang GT Muscle. It's a cross: the speed of a supercar and the power of a muscle car. This costed me about several hundred thousand to make and design so don't scratch it BALTO. Well, not that you could anyway due to the metal I synthesized for it." Ryker informed as Balto suddenly jumped back from the car with a mareepish smile.

Aurora then noticed something wrong and pointed it out to the two.

"Um, there's only two seats in that car. We won't fit so should I fly?" Aurora asked.

Ryker looked at her and gave her the first smile he had given her since that morning.

"The car's actually roomy on the inside. Do you mind sitting on my lap as I drive? I won't crash and I have a licence." Ryker offered.

At this, she immediately nodded yes and Ryker opened the door. It opened upwards like a sports-car would and he sat down, holding out his hand for her to do the same. She smiled as she took his hand and sat on his lap. She found that he was right, her head wasn't even touching the ceiling the car if she lay against him. Balto sat inside as well on the passenger (right in this case) side of the car and nearly cheered when he saw the machinery on the center console. There was a surround sound radio/music player and below it, were cup holders. In front of it was the gear shiftbox which meant the car runs on manually and that Ryker knew how to drive stick.

Aurora looked to her right to see Balto gaping at a single white button underneath the surround sound stereo system in front of the gear shifter. He was about to press it but a single look from Ryker stopped him in his tracks.

"DO NOT press that button, Balto. I haven't even started the engine yet and you're already planning to activate the Nitrous ver.5?" Ryker admonished with a hint of amusement.

At this, Balto choked on his own words, incredulous at the fact that Ryker actually had the newest Nitrous system out there. Again, Aurora had no idea what that was but by the look of EXTREME excitement Balto gave, it's probably best not to ask. Ryker took the ignition key and started the engine, earning a loud, powerful roar from the engine. However, after starting up, the engine was surprisingly silent so if one were to think about it, the car would be perfect for stealth missions.

Not bothering to put on seat belts, Balto fiddled with the radio system, tuning it to Top Kanto. When he felt satisfied with the song that was playing, Balto leaned back against the seat and rocked his head to the beat to the song, rolling down the window to feel the nice, cool breeze. Ryker then put the car in drive and got in first gear after pressing the clutch by his foot. He drove down the lot and descended the levels of the building. When he reached the exit, he placed several quarters into an automatic toll which allowed them to leave.

When they entered an intersection, Ryker activated a GPS system on the center dashboard on the car and entered in the coordinates.

"MAKE A RIGHT TURN AHEAD." an automated voice announced and Ryker complied.

When he did so, Balto got a little trigger happy and started to advance on the white button on the center console. Aurora noticed this and decided to just wait and see the outcome of his actions. However, Ryker noticed Balto's intentions quickly and looked ahead to see almost no cars and the highway they were on was a complete straightaway. They should reach their destination relatively soon. Suddenly, Ryker smiled and held Aurora with one of his arms, the other still clutching the steering wheel though making sure to switch gears every so often.

"Might as well activate it now, Balto." Ryker announced and earned a small cheer from his brother.

 _Hang on._ Ryker mentally told Aurora who braced herself to whatever that was going to happen next.

She wrapped her arms around Ryker and nodded and not a split second afterward, the car surged forward with amazing speed. Aurora was forced to lean back due to how fast they were going and looked at Balto who looked like his jaws were going to detach if he didn't stop cheering.

 _So this is what Nitrous does to cars and this is why Balto's so excited._ Aurora noted.

She looked at the speedometer and noticed how the indicator was climbing higher and higher. 170. 190. 210. 230. 250. 270. 295... Aurora widened her eyes as they destroyed the speed limit of the highway (65) and relaxed as the Nitrous wore off and the car began to return to its normal speed. Amazingly, they didn't crash into anyone and there were just a few cars ahead of them. She figured that the highway they were on wasn't frequently used by most. She looked at Balto who was shaking in the seat. He suddenly broke out a large smile and pumped his fist into the air.

"Yeeeeaaaaaaah!" he cheered out the window as they drove past a few cars.

Aurora laughed at his childlike behavior and Ryker shook his head with a hint of amusement. The GPS displayed that they were still 89 miles away from the base so Ryker surmised that it will take about two to three hours to get there, excluding traffic and all other possible delays.

"How fast did this go?" Balto asked, seeming to have finally calmed down.

"I read 312 before I stopped paying attention to it." Aurora replied with a smile.

Balto smiled and did a victory stance to her reply. Ryker then cleared his throat and caught their attention. He gestured towards the GPS and drove the car onto a ramp, redirecting their direction to another route that would get them to the base faster.

"It should take us about two to three hours to reach base. Aurora, I'm letting you know ahead of time before we get there that it will be challenging." Ryker began earning a nod from Aurora and Balto to turn serious again.

Balto leaned forward and turned the radio down. At the same time, he rolled up the window and turned on the air conditioning unit instead.

"It will take a while and you probably won't see until then but if all goes well and they deem you as skilled enough and if you demonstrate to be a valuable asset to the force, you will get promoted and moved over to one of our SF squadrons. I will only tell you that we of the Special Forces are only small in number compared to the other groups and units. If you decide to shoot for SF, depending on your skill and affinity, you will be assigned to one of the squadrons. The rest is classified. I'm sorry but we had to swear on our family (not that they were threatened, mind you) that we were to keep the information confidential."

Aurora nodded and smiled in understanding. Ryker let out a sigh of relief before directing the rest of his attention to the road before them.

"Thank you for understanding, by the way." Ryker added with Balto nodding his head in agreement.

"Of course, why would I get mad at you two for something that the two of you sworn to keep secret? If all goes well and I join Special Forces, I'll end up knowing all the information anyways."

Ryker smiled and nodded and motioned for Balto to open the glove compartment. He pulled out a small but thick textbook and handed it to Aurora who was actually excited to go over it. She LOVED to read no matter the material.

"You should learn all the ranks and proper behavior in front of an officer or any higher ranking individual ahead of time. You should also go over on what you may be trained on and also types and functions of each weapon category. As for life within the base, I'm letting you know that they'll give you a fresh set of fatigues and a new standard toothbrush. Every morning, save for a day depending on which squadron or group you're in, you will get up and with your squadron, you'll go on a run depending on your sergeant or sergeants. You'll come back and eat at the mess hall then proceed to train for the rest of the day. If a mission comes up and you're assigned to it, you will pack your all your basic necessities and prepare to leave at the designated time via helicopter or trucks and jeeps. Extra details on what to do before, during, and after the mission with your squad is in the book so you can read up on that if you like." Ryker finished after shifting gears again.

Aurora fully comprehended all that he told her and began to read and memorize the book at impressive speeds. By the time they were halfway to their destination, she was already two-thirds done with the book! Balto mentioned something about how he heard some kids at schools do something called a "fluency reading" and told Aurora that she would demolish it.

When they stopped for a break at a gas station, Ryker went inside to buy some drinks and some snacks. Aurora marveled how amazingly comfortable the car's seat was a but noticed how Balto was looking at a street lamp with a grim and stern look. He noticed that she was looking and tried to play it off but Aurora wouldn't have it. If Balto is Ryker's brother, even though not blood related, that makes him a brother to her as well so as far as she knows, Balto is family.

"What's wrong, Balto? This isn't like you to mope around like this." Aurora asked with concern.

Balto gave her a reassuring look though with a sad smile and shook his head.

"I'm fine, don't worry. It's just the thought of returning home with someone else's blood on my hands scares me. I don't want to lose sight of who I am outside military life." he told her while letting out a heavy sigh.

She was about to comfort him but ended up not having to as he smiled brightly and patted her on the back.

"With that said, all I could do know is look forward to coming home to OUR family and friends!" he beamed, Aurora smiled and enjoyed the warm feeling that came as he emphasized that they were family.

Aurora jumped as the door on her side opened only to relax when she saw Ryker handing Balto the food and drinks. She got up and Ryker sat down on his seat, allowing Aurora to sit on his lap again. Balto handed her a Cheri Snapple and a warm burrito before returning to his own snack which was the same but with a Dr. Pepper drink.

"Sorry, they didn't have a wide selection there at all." Ryker announced as he started to eat as well, though wrinkling his nose as a stray scent of gas and spilt oil reached his nostrils.

"It's fine, the burritos aren't bad at all, actually." Aurora replied after swallowing a bite of the wrapped up chicken, beans, etc.

Ryker took a sip from his decaffeinated straight black coffee and gave them a questioning look.

"Restrooms?" he asked he checked the time which read 2:15 p.m.

He then frowned and waved his hand over his watch, revealing that it now had twelve more numbers (1-24) though still remained the same size. The watch was now military time-oriented and though the a.m./p.m. slot was gone, it was replaced by a some sort of display meter that gets darker depending on the body heat it detects. Completely black for body heat, faded grey for no one nearby. This was all impressive due to the fact that it wasn't a digital watch.

"I don't need to, I went before we left." Balto replied while making sure the interior of the car remains clean...he really did not want to get obliterated by some "stray" hellfire and shadows.

"I don't need to either, thanks for asking." Aurora responded while quietly humming in content.

One: She was sitting on Ryker's lap. Two: They were eating together and though it's not the best meal, she felt like the other two relaxed a bit even though they were pretty tense earlier. Three: She was enjoying teasing Ryker (though Balto was completely oblivious) by "accidentally" shifting and rubbing against his crotch. Though it wasn't acts of lust on her part, if one were to look, one would think that it was but no, not lust but purely love and affection with a little bit of mischief. Ryker had no idea if she knew what she was doing and was trying not to groan out loud.

 _This is what you get for earlier._ Aurora thought with a triumphant smile.

 **Flashback**

 _So you two haven't done anything yet?_ _ **Balto asked mentally, earning a blush from Aurora.**_

 _ **They were on the road and after much persuasion, Balto and Ryker switched spots so now Aurora was in the passenger seat with her lover. At the moment, Ryker seemed to be in deep thought and was staring distantly out the window. They tried to get his attention earlier but failed to do so. They figured he couldn't hear them and concluded that he must have been thinking about the military and was drowning out the world around them**_ _._

 _Well, no, we didn't. But there was this one night when he gave me a full massage. IT. WAS. HEAVENLY._ _ **she emphasized.**_

 _ **Balto chuckled and switched lanes due to the fact that the car ahead of them was going a lot slower than the speed limit. Aurora was then thinking about her happy and adventurous relationship with Ryker and wondered how long would it take for the both of them to be ready to take it up the next level. Suddenly, a mischievous smile emerged on Balto's face and he cleared his throat pointedly at Ryker, snapping the Fenrir out his his concentration.**_

"Say, Ryker, when do you think you'll be ready to you-know-what with Aurora." **he asked, making Aurora turn bright pink immediately.**

 **Ryker sighed and decided to humor the childish wolf in sheep's, or in this case, human's clothing. He smiled and gave a false sultry look at Aurora, making her shiver (in a positive way) in wonder to what is he going to say.**

 _"Well, if I had my way and if it was legal, I would make you pull over this car right now so I can take her somewhere secluded off this highway and make her mine."_ _ **Ryker said, though whispering the last part into Aurora's ear.**_

 _ **This caused Aurora to turn as red as a Hydreigon's eyes and bury her face to hide herself. Balto laughed heartily and Ryker simply comforted Aurora, assuring her that he wouldn't do that to her without her consent and if she wasn't ready. She tried to call him a pervert but then realized that he was nothing of the sort and if anyone is to be called a pervert, it would be Balto. But she knew he was harmlessly joking.**_

 **Flashback End**

Ryker silently groaned and started the engine to distract himself. Aurora simply smiled and ceased her teasing inconspicuously causing Ryker to audibly sigh in relief. She silently giggled to herself but then turned another twenty or so shades of pink as she thought about something.

 _Wait, what was poking me just moments earlier?_ she thought

 **Later**

"We're here." Ryker announced in a cold tone.

Balto stiffened and got out of the car. Aurora got out Balto's door so that she wouldn't give any looking officers at the base the impression that she wasn't serious. If she were to be sitting on Ryker's lap and other officers saw, she doesn't know how they would act...

Ryker got out of the car as well and walked up to the main gates. He was stopped by someone who seemed to be in his senior year career who, Aurora noted, was a Garchomp anthromorph. When he did, Aurora noticed the structure of the outside of the base. It was like a really large parking lot but with hangers and barracks as well garages and Arceus knows what else. She saw some soldiers running in a group alongside the fence of the base followed by another. Some helicopters took off and left the area and she spotted two Skarmony anthromorphs in the middle of what seemed to be aerial training. One of them fired a fire-based **Hidden** Power, effectively knocking the other Skarmony out for the count.

"State your business or I will have to shoot you." the officer commanded Ryker who seemed unfazed by the 'morph's harsh and rough tone.

Ryker held up a hand and gestured to Balto who took a step forward. Ryker motioned for Aurora to do the same but she remained behind them.

"At ease. I am Master Sergeant of Squadron 5 in Special Forces: Oblivion. Identification Code: Alpha-zero-zero-five-zulu-november-seven-echo." Ryker droned in monotone.

Balto stepped forward as well and droned on his identification code. He saluted as he did so.

"And I am Sergeant of Squadron 5 in Special Forces: Oblivion. Code: Bravo-four-three-two-golf-India-six-charlie." Balto stated in a livelier tone than his squad brother.

The officer cocked an eyebrow and raised a small keypad device with a small screen. He typed in both ID codes and blanched to a light blue as he saw the summaries and profiles that were labeled "CLASSIFIED". Ryker's read:

 **Fang, A. , aka: Alpha Shadow Hunter *note: Codename "Alpha" is the same as first name.* AN:(I wonder if it's illegal to put a fake name on your military ID)**

 **Rank: Master Sergeant of Special Forces Squadron 5**

 **Current Age: 25**

 **Height: 6 ft. 5 in.**

 **Weight: 229 lbs. *very muscular, medium-large muscle build**

 **Species (and) Nationality: Human, Zenithean**

 **Hair Color: Black**

 **Eye Color: White *white irises are not contacts, they're natural**

The officer looked at Balto's which was similar to Ryker's but slightly less shocking.

 **White, B. , aka: Bravo the Silent Demolitionist**

 **Rank: Sergeant of Special Forces Squadron 5**

 **Current Age: 23**

 **Height: 6 ft. 3 in.**

 **Weight: 201 lbs.**

 **Species (and) Nationality: Human, Japanese-American**

 **Hair Color: Silver *hair is not dyed**

 **Eye Color: Yellow *yellow irises are not contacts, they're natural**

The officer regained his composure and nodded to the two, pointing to his badge and rank on his uniform while saluting. Aurora sweat-dropped when she noticed the Corporal was quivering in fear

"I am C-C-Corporal Leonard and I am t-t-terribly sorry for my rudeness, sirs!" the Corporal announced in a loud but afraid voice.

Ryker and Balto nodded and the Corporal relaxed slightly. Leonard pulled out a file within his folder and presented it to Ryker who took it and read its contents.

"Sir, Colonel Roark notified me that you two would be coming! In addition to that, he told me to tell you to meet him in his quarters in the western barracks, sir!" Leonard continued.

Ryker finished reading the file and handed it to Balto who read in with a sigh of exasperation. Aurora swore that he muttered something about him taking a whole three years to properly read English.

"At ease soldier, we're all fighting in the world here. Relax, you need to have a calm mind if you are to guard these gates. Just be sure to remain vigilant." Ryker stated earning a smile from the Corporal.

A man walked up to Ryker and saluted before saying something incoherent and got into Ryker's car. He then drove the car into a different entrance of the base. Finally, the main gates opened and Ryker led them in. However, Leonard finally seemed to notice Aurora and was about to strike her with a baton stick of some kind.

"This area is off-limits to civil-!" Leonard began but was interrupted by Ryker who grabbed the Corporal's wrist with a firm and aggressive grip.

"She is with us, Leonard. If I see you attempt to strike a civilian, a female one at that, I will have you court-marshalled and MUCH worse." Ryker warned in a deathly cold tone.

The Corporal turned sickly pale and Ryker released him, leaving a very noticeable hand-shaped bruise on the poor 'morph's wrist. Aurora mouthed "sorry" to Leonard before following the two inside the base.

Ryker led them through the base, nodding to every few soldiers every so often. Most of them gasped in awe as they saw him and Balto since they overheard the loud commotion by the main gate. However, some unfortunately soldiers tried to hit on Aurora and ended up in the First-Aid tents for frostbite treatments seconds later. Ryker stopped in front of a building of some sort and looked at Balto.

"I'll meet you at our barracks at 1800 hours, Balto. You go relax until then, brother." Ryker said with a smile.

Balto smiled as well and nodded, heading for what Aurora surmised as the mess hall. She figured that he was still hungry and was probably hoping that there was still food. She followed Ryker inside the building and stood in front of a large counter where a Milotoc morph stood. She smiled and saluted at Ryker who gave her his military ID.

"What can I do for you, deary?" the Milotoc asked with a bright and cheery attitude.

Ryker gestured to Aurora and grabbed a form.

"My companion here-" he began but was interrupted by a knowing look and a wink from the Milotoc.

Ryker chuckled and smiled before continuing. Aurora noticed the whole situation and smiled as well, leaning lovingly against Ryker's side.

"She's here to register in the army." Ryker finished, earning a look of horror from the nice Milotoc.

"Wait, but aren't you a couple? Why would you sign her up?" she asked.

Ryker sighed and hugged Aurora closer.

"I know but she wouldn't have it. Besides, she's pretty powerful and could handle herself. I trust her to do fine here." Ryker explained, earning a blush from Aurora.

The Milotoc smiled and grabbed the form from Ryker's hand.

"Hello, dear, my name is Kiki. May I have yours?" the morph asked while hovering her pen above the form.

"Aurora North and it's a pleasure to meet you Kiki." Aurora replied cheerfully.

Kiki wrote Aurora's name down on the form and looked up again.

"Date of birth, please?" Kiki asked with a wide grin.

"The twelfth of December of 1998. I am twenty-five now." Aurora replied.

"What unit of force are you aiming for?"

"Special Forces."

"Any combat skills?"

"Hand-to-hand thanks to my partner's training and also training in my true form under the eyes of Lady Arceus."

"...S-s-species?"

"Islingr Suicune."

"..."

Ryker smiled as he watched their exchange. After a while of questions and faces of incredulity, Kiki finally finished the form and submitted it. She also typed the information and stored it into the Computer Command. Kiki smiled and went into the back room, grabbing Aurora on the way. Ryker knew that they were going to get the set of fatigues and toothbrush so he sat down and waited. However, his faced turned red as his ear twitched.

(In the storage room)

"Jeez! Size K?!"..."...rare bra size.."..."...nice rump..."..."..that hunks of yours must be at least 12 in. full mast.."

Ryker was about to find some ear plugs but stopped and relaxed as Aurora came out of the room with her gear. Kiki seemed to be exhausted and winked at Ryker who gave her a nervous wave of the hand. They thanked the Milotoc morph and left, Aurora insisting to Ryker that she could hold her own equipment. She asked why his face was red but all she got was a distracted stare into the distance for a reply.

He led her to another building and gestured towards the entrance.

"Here is where you take the exams then the physical ones. If you pass, you'll get field training as well as education about field tactics and the like. If all goes well and you pass, I'll see you in a few months at the earliest." Ryker explained with a frown.

Aurora saddened as well but smiled and hugged Ryker.

"Don't worry, Ryker. I'll be sure to make up for my absence *wink"

"...If any one gives you problems or if you don't want to continue, let me know, alright?" Ryker replied with worry.

Aurora nodded and hugged him, saying a quick "I love you" and receiving "And I, you" before entering the building. Ryker stood there for a while before heading for the jogging track.

 **About a half a year later**

Colonel Roark looked at the file and was fairly impressed by what he saw.

 **North, A. aka Echo the Subzero Storm**

 **Rank: Recently promoted to Sergeant, transferring to Special Forces Squadron Five**

 **Age: 25**

 **Height: 6 ft. 3 in.**

 **Weight: 135 lbs.**

 **Special (and) Nationality : Islingr Suicune**

 **Hair Color: blue - streaks of light-blue**

 **Eye Color: Blue**

 **Specialty: Air support and ranged attacks along with amazing healing abilities. Amazingly cunning on the field and adept at strategies and preparing plans. IQ is off the charts like the Engineer and Genius hacker, Grace Legend and Shadow Hunter, Alpha Fang. Usually tries to avoid needless killing and focuses on neutralizing targets. Classified as Certain Death Encounter if provoked.**

"We have a legendary in our ranks?" Roark asked himself.

"Transferred to SF Squadron 5 huh. As if that Squadron couldn't get any better. So far, the newest addition, Echo the Subzero Storm, Delta the Dead Eye, Charlie the Flash Engineer, Bravo the Demolitionist, and finally..."

He pulled out classified files as he said all of their names and codenames.

 **Special Forces Squadron Five: Assault Pack**

 **(All combat trained and mentally tested)**

 ***encounters range from Non-Lethal to Already Deceased**

 **Shadow, V. aka Delta the Dead Eye**

 **Rank: Staff Sergeant**

 **Age: 26**

 **Height: 5 ft. 10 in.**

 **Weight: 166 lbs.**

 **Species (and) Nationality: Mightyena *fur is an abnormality and is colored white and black.**

 **Hair Color: White tipped black hair**

 **Eye Color: Red**

 **Specialty: Expert marksman and all around sniper. Along with having the best accuracy in the Kanto Army, Vargulf is master of usage of ranged weapons. Amazingly adept at mapping out routes and locations. Classified as Extremely Dangerous Encounter.**

 **Legend, G. aka Charlie the Flash Engineer/Genius Hacker**

 **Rank: Sergeant**

 **Age: 26**

 **Height: 5 ft. 7 in.**

 **Weight: 127 lbs.**

 **Species (and) Nationality: A "shiny" Ninetales.**

 **Hair Color: Silver**

 **Eye Color: Red**

 **Speciality: Engineer and Genius Hacker, Grace Legend is master of hacking even the most secured of databases as well as repairing and constructing vehicles or anything else useful to the situation. Classified as Extremely Dangerous Encounter.**

 **White, B. aka Bravo the Demolitionist**

 **Rank: Sergeant**

 **Age: 23**

 **Height: 6 ft. 3 in.**

 **Weight: 201 lbs.**

 **Species (and) Nationality: Human, Japanese-American**

 **Hair Color: Silver**

 **Eye Color: Yellow**

 **Specialty: Explosives that are silenced by mute charges and also specializes and traps. He's one of two (North, A.) to pass the positive attitude test in the Kanto Army and has amazing photographic memory like the ALREADY DECEASED classified soldier, Alpha Fang. Classified as Extremely Dangerous Encounter.**

Roark pulled out yet another classified personnel file and opened it to reveal a black-haired man with white irises. He scratched his chin and eyed the profile closely, reading the information his soldiers had gathered on the mysterious man.

 **Fang, A. aka Alpha Shadow Hunter**

 **Rank: Master Sergeant**

 **Age: 25**

 **Height: 6 ft. 5 in.**

 **Weight: 219 lbs.**

 **Species (and) Nationality: Human, Zenithean**

 **Hair Color: Black**

 **Eye Color: White**

 **Specialty: All around close combat fighter as well as being the best in stealth in the world. Amazingly skilled at all field operations and unrivaled in strength as well as speed. Above all, the only one besides Sergeant Aurora North to pass the written and mental tests and the only one to receive a perfect score on the Tremor, the hardest training course in the Kanto Army. Classified as Already Deceased Encounter.**

"Alpha the Shadow Hunter...along with Bravo, a two man army. And with Echo...certainly amazing. Amazing strength and speed but surprisingly not a pokemon. Distant relative was a pokemon maybe and the rest were humans? Bah, I shouldn't worry about it. I've known him for years yet I don't know much about him. However.."

Roark sweat-dropped and shivered as he put the files away. He prayed to Arceus that he hoped Ryker wouldn't defect and suddenly switched sides in the war.

"..I really feel bad for our enemies. "Already Deceased Encounter"? Even a large squadron of ten to twenty people can't stand against him." he finished.

 **Special Forces Squadron Five Barracks**

Aurora nervously opened the door to her new living quarters for the time being. She peered inside and spotted a Mightyena morph talking to a Ninetales morph. The Ninetales had apparently just finished showering in the in-barrack shower stalls and only had a towel covering her. She seemed to be comfortable and didn't mind. But after the Mightyena turned around, she got on her bunk got dressed as she was hidden from view from below. The Mightyena sat on his own bunk which was just underneath the Ninetales. Balto can be seen on the other side of the room reading a book. Aurora smiled and walked inside, catching the group's attention.

"Aurora! It's been too long!" Balto exclaimed as he got up and hugged her.

Aurora hugged him back and set her luggage down on an empty bunk. She turned around and saw the Ninetales and the strangely colored Mightyena looking at her.

Aurora smiled and held out her hand.

"Hello fellow squad members, I'm Aurora North, Code name: Echo the Subzero Storm."

 **A while later**

"So you know S.M. Alpha as well, right?" Grace asked, curiosity visibly showing on her face.

Aurora nodded and gave a warm smile.

"Yes, for several years now. You know, it's usually Alpha who's really formal with everyone." she replied.

At this, Grace brightened and looked at Vargulf.

"Yeah. Isn't Alpha super formal with us even though he's of a higher rank?" she asked.

Vargulf nodded and stretched his arms.

"Yeah. That's right. We lived with the guy for a long while and to this day, he never spoke informally towards us. However, he seemed to have changed when he came back a several months ago."

Grace nodded and suddenly, an idea materialised in her head and she announced it to the whole group.

"Why don't we go see what he's doing now?" Grace asked earning nods of agreement from the others.

They left the barracks and Grace asked them if they had an idea of where he might be. Aurora told them that he likes to train so they should try the training area.

"You really know Alpha if you're right, Aurora." Vargulf remarked.

They walked for another few minutes or so before coming across the training area and into one of the training simulation rooms before spotting a shirtless Ryker. The simulator was off for some reason, however, their jaws dropped as they saw what he was doing. He was upside down on top of a chair and was doing one hand push ups on the spine of the chair, all the while keeping his balance and switching hands from time to time. Again, the whole while upside down.

Grace and Aurora noticed how his muscles bulged with every push up and due to him doing handstand one hand push-ups, they saw how the muscles on his back bulged and rippled. Aurora was barely able to restrain fainting and Grace was the first one to snap out of it. Balto and Vargulf then cleared their throats and caught Ryker's attention.

Ryker did one last push-up and with that push, he launched himself upright and grabbed a towel on the desk next to him.

"Ah, I thought everyone else left already." Ryker stated while putting on his standard issue t-shirt.

"You would be the only one to be training on our day off, Alpha." Grace remarked, earning a chuckle from Ryker, something she noticed he started to do every once in a while.

Ryker noticed Aurora who was smiling brightly and smiled himself. He walked up to her and gave her a loving hug, chuckling as she mentally told him that she had missed him.

 _I missed you too, dear. How was test training?_ Ryker mentally asked with a hint of amusement.

Aurora rolled her eyes and released him from her hug.

 _Not as bad as I thought it would be actually. Though I wouldn't go through it again._ she replied with a mental giggle, heavenly to Ryker's, uh, mind.

"So I'm guessing you've met Grace and Vargulf then." Ryker announced earning a nod from Aurora.

At this, Grace perked up and caught their attention.

"You know, when you came back to us, I noticed a few different things about you. One: you smile now which I'm still unused to. Two: you actually laugh which almost gave me a heart attack when I first heard you. Three: Though you're still formal when you're talking to us, you talk a lot more than usual...well a lot more compared to two or three words. You still need to work on putting emotions into your sentences though. It's a start but you got to do it a lot more often. People would be less scared of you." she listed.

Vargulf nodded and spoke next.

"People do change, Grace. You, being one of the oldest of the three of us, should know that."

Grace shrugged her shoulders and looked at Ryker with a defeated look.

"Sometimes, I think you take steroids, Alpha."

Ryker shook his head and gave her a small smile.

"Wouldn't dream on destroying myself." he replied, putting on a smile on her face as well.

Ryker stretched and drank some water from a bottle he placed on a table nearby. He then stretched and looked at them with a quizzical expression.

"So, do you guys need anything from me?" he asked as they walked down the training hall.

Vargulf had an amused look set upon his face and gave a small chuckle. He then pointed at the Ninetales morph with a sly look.

"Those two wanted to see you, Alpha. Balto and I were just minding our own business until suddenly Grace goes "We should all visit Alpha just because!" and dragged us into it." the Mightyena explained with a humored look.

Grace gave Vargulf a death glare and shot a small **Ember** at his face. The Mightyena, trained specifically for surprise attacks and ambushes, dodged it with relative ease which resulted in Balto taking the attack. Said wolf-in-human's clothing yelped (much to the curiosity of Grace and Vargulf) and used Ryker's water bottle to put it out.

"Oh crap! Sorry, Balto! Are you alright? I didn't mean to do that!" the shiny feline exclaimed.

Balto smiled and shook his head. He sighed and scratched the back of his head while looking down to the floor. He smiled again and patted Grace's shoulder before reassuring her.

"It's fine, I actually got used to getting burned a while back. Except when it happened those times, they hurt a hell of a lot more. Not that I'm saying your flames are weak, of course." he exclaimed while darting a glance at his pack brother.

Said Fenrir pretended he didn't hear (which was impossible due to his hypersensitive ears) and opened the exit for them, leading them out of the training area. Grace looked at Balto and arched an eyeridge, trying to get him what he meant by his earlier statement. Balto, however, knew what she was trying to accomplish and hoped someone within their group would change the subject. Luckily for him, Ryker saved him from a bombardment of questions that would surely cause chaos if others were to find out about him and Ryker's actually identities. Yes, there were pokemon and humans at the base and they coexisted rather nicely. But Balto wasn't a pokemon but a pure wolf of light. On the contrary, Ryker wasn't a pokemon either but like Balto, a creature of its own origin. However, unlike Balto, Ryker was a winged and horned wolf of complete dark oblivion and black hellfire.

"It's almost lunchtime. Why don't we all meet at the mess hall in, let's say, (he checked the time) 1130 hours?" Ryker asked, gaining the attention of the others.

They all looked at each other before having a silent agreement to his question. Aurora stepped up to him and smiled.

"I know you'll most likely hunt rather than eat whatever they give us. I'll hunt with you." she announced, earning a smile from her lover but shocked looks from Vargulf and Grace.

 _That's why we never see him at the mess hall, let alone eat there_. _But I guess there's a first time for everything._ Vargulf mentally told Grace earning a nod from her

Grace, being a Ninetales, already had some psychic power residing within her. There was a day when Vargulf asked her about telepathy and resulted in her teaching him just that. However, what they did not know was that Ryker heard their little exchange.

"Anyone else want to come with?" Aurora asked with a chipper tone.

The other three shook their heads and Balto gave a small yawn. He looked at them with a drowsy look and started to walk towards the mess hall.

"Too lazy right now." he told them earning shaking heads of disapproval from Ryker and Grace.

When he walked off, Aurora turned to leave as well and was preparing to revert to her **Altered Form.** She stopped, however, when she noticed that her partner was still conversing with Grace and Vargulf. Ryker though then turned and walked away with Aurora. Before they left the area though, Ryker looked at the other two, earning looks of curiosity from the Ninetales and Mightyena.

 _You two should learn how to keep your conversations private from others. Otherwise, all who can communicate through telepathy could hear._ he told them making the two turn red in embarrassment but shocked from the fact that he could hear and speak psychic conversations.

 **Later**

Ryker was chewing on a fawn's leg (he hunted a normal deer in consideration for some of the pokemon at the base) and was currently having a conversation with his squadmates. They were going over the incident that was about the assassination of General Hrothgar. Apparently, the General had been assassinated in the actual base by an unknown assassin. The assassin left no trace of his whereabouts whatsoever and there was no struggle in the area of the assassination since he was killed in his seat. The cause for his death however was a single poison dart.

"A poison dart, you say?" Ryker asked, gaining the attention of Vargulf who was the one who supplied the information.

Vargulf nodded and cooked an eyebrow at Ryker indicating an unspoken question. Ryker, however, stopped eating and slowly lost himself in deep thought, drowning out the rest of the world around him. Aurora looked at him with worry, wondering if he had an inkling to what may have happened.

"What is Gleaming Jade, Balto?" Aurora asked, immediately gaining the attention of her lover who perked up at the mention of the notorious group.

Balto cleared his throat and turned as serious as a Metagross. His eyes grew hard and all friendliness and playfulness left his expression. Ryker became the same way as well, earning a sweatdrop from Grace who noted that Balto must have looked up to Ryker. Vargulf noticed this as well and shivered at how fast Ryker and Balto can switch from being amiable to dead serious. Still though, he expected this from Ryker though not the latter.

"Gleaming Jade is a group of well trained assassin's gathered around the world. Half of them were actually brainwashed into becoming part of the group because of their skills. And when they were not needed, they would be released without memory of what they did that day and if needed, would be recalled again to be brainwashed. They can infiltrate bases and leave just as easily like child's play. They have been hampering us for years and maybe many more to come. They are also part of the Johto Army, our enemy at the moment. Gleaming Jade is like our Special Forces here. They're like our counterparts though trained to all kill with no other skills. That's what separates them from us. We have MULTIPLE skills, not just stealth and terminating targets." Balto informed.

Ryker suddenly spoke up, surprising everyone at the small table. Before he did, however, he frowned and scratched his chin lightly.

"There is something not right here. Even with a poison dart, there would have been signs of struggle. We are all trained to be alert at the slightest sudden noises that may reach our ears. Yes, the dart may have been silent but surely the highly trained General would have woken up the moment the dart made contact with his neck. So, I'm thinking there's something terribly sinister about all this. How was he laying on the bed when they found him dead?" Ryker announced with a serious tone.

They looked at Vargulf and Grace, both of which were curious to what he was implying. Vargulf, however, calmed and replied to the aforementioned question.

"They found him sleeping the way he usually does: face up with both arms behind the pillow. Why do you ask?"

At this, Ryker's expression became grave and he suddenly lost all appetite. He shook his head and folded his hands and leaned his forehead on it.

"That's not right. I knew the General and at one point, I guarded his quarters. That bit you told me about the way he slept is actually a rumor spread by the General himself for security reasons. Why? For situations like these. I used to guard him, he always slept face DOWN with his hands on TOP of the pillow. Always." Ryker stated in a matter-of-fact tone as his frown became into a scowl and to Vargulf and Grace, the sudden rise of temperature was due to the vents but the other two knew better.

"What are you trying to say, Alpha?" Vargulf asked with Grace nodding her head fiercely in agreement.

Balto suddenly interrupted, slamming his hands down on the table when he did so. Luckily, everyone else had already left the mess hall so they didn't attract any attention.

"Rumors spread like wildfire within a group of people. And all of us are trained not to leak any info at all outside these walls. Which means-" Balto started but never finished because Aurora interrupted this time.

"-That the assassin must have heard the rumor and left the General in that position." she finished for Balto.

All of their eyes grew wide with incredulity and looked at Ryker with unhinged jaws. Ryker was nodding gravely and let out a deep sigh.

"Right, " he began," and we just went over the fact that EVERYONE here is trained not to leak information about anything no matter of how little importance it is. This seals it, everyone."

Ryker stood up and looked at the area around him, scanning for anyone who may have been eavesdropping on their conversation. He then relaxed and looked at his squadmates, eyes stern but expression emotionless.

"All in all, someone here, in this base, is part of Gleaming Jade and he or she may be brainwashed to forget what had went down to avoid detection. He or she could be any one of us." he finished, voice laced with a heavy seriousness.

At this, the rest of the group were beyond shocked. Balto and Aurora may have came to the same conclusions just then but they were shocked still. Grace was showing major disbelief and Vargulf suddenly spat out his mush of food onto his plate. However they all knew it. There was no doubting it. There was an enemy, brainwashed or intentional, in their midst.

 **Night, in the Colonel's Office**

"Absolutely outrageous! If there was an infiltration of any kind and if the enemy was still here, WE WOULD KNOW!" Colonel Roark roared with fury.

At the sound of his piercing roar, Grace and Aurora flinched but the rest of the group remained stoic. The only one who was not unfazed by this at all was Ryker, but then, what could? Ryker took a step forward calmly and saluted to the Colonel.

"Sir, I advise you to think about it. Hrothgar did not sleep like the way he was found dead that way and the only ones who would place him like that would know the false rumors he personally spread. There is no other explanation to this." he explained calmly, impressing his squadron and his superior as well.

Aurora took a quick glance at the Colonel. His fur color was faded with age but his red eyes still glowed with fiery passion. His crown of flames was blazing with the intensity of his anger and his fists balled in rage. The Infernape did not scare Aurora. In fact, she would have out right gave him an earful for his stubbornness. The only thing that held her back was the fact that he could court-marshall her for disrespecting and threatening a higher authority. Roark gave Ryker a scowl and turned around, pacing back and forth across his desk. Grace didn't dare try to say anything to the Colonel and the same went for Vargulf who had a serious (but he was trying not to laugh at the monkey's childish antics) expression upon his face.

"*sigh* Do you really think that there is an enemy among our ranks? Someone of the Gleaming Jade? Fang, please give me an honest answer." Roark asked wearily while rubbing his temples.

Ryker gave a slow nod and let his hand fall to his side, not bothering saluting anymore. Besides, what could they do to him?

"I'm afraid so. However," he began catching the Colenel's attention, "the culprit or culprits may have been turned over by the brainwashing serum the Johto Army has. If that was to be the case, the culprit(s) should be innocent since they did not have control over what they did neither do they have memory of doing such a thing." Ryker finished before stepping back into the line formed by Squadron 5.

Roark thought about this for a few seconds. If one were to look, one would see that he wasn't in a anthromorphic form for he didn't need one. His body structure resembles that of a humanoid so he can easily operate machines and weapons as easily as humans can. Finally, after nearly two whole minutes of silence, Roark gave his reply to the Fenrir and his squadron.

"I agree with your earlier statement. They were forced into killing and should not be guilty for the acts. That's IF, and that's a big if, they were brainwashed by Hyptonic." Roark announced before sitting back down onto his chair.

Hyptonic. That word hung in Aurora's head for the majority of the time. She was listening to the meeting, yes, but she couldn't help but to think about the vile serum Johto has created. Hyptonic was a serum created from the extraction of a Hypno's brain tissue which usually results in death and mixing it with the blood of a Musharna. It was developed by an old band of misfits that had disbanded years ago, Team Rocket, and the recipe was salvaged by the Johto Army during one of the last raids on the thieves. The serum would brainwash the victim into obeying the administrator's orders then wear off when the administrator says "Good morning."

Roark rummaged through his stack of papers and eventually pulled out an envelope labeled "CLASSIFIED". He handed the slip to Ryker who raised an eyebrow at the action. Roark gestured him to open it so Ryker did so, only to reveal a case that contained a small black dart, a blood stain at the tip of it. Grace barely resisted from recoiling at the sight and Vargulf let out a small, barely noticeable growl. Balto stiffened slightly and Aurora frowned, immediately realizing that this dart was the very dart that had killed General Hrothgar.

"What do you think of it? Does it seem familiar to you? Anyone you know has a specialization in darts?" Roark asked, earning a mental snort from Ryker who thought that it ridiculous to ask such a question when the SF was full of soldiers specialized in this kind of stealthy kill.

Ryker frowned and examined the dart, turning it this way and that way. He examined the material the dart was made of and the little needle tip to try and analyze the poison. His nose twitched, though it went unnoticed by the group.

 _Smells like curare extract. It would make sense since it causes paralyzation to the diaphragm and muscle weakness. That would explain why there was no signs of struggle at all and a good dose of this would kill almost instantly. As for who may have used this.._

Ryker sniffed the dart at the shaft which _didn't_ go unnoticed his squad and the Colonel. The Colonel was about to question but was shocked to see Ryker's expression of beyond disbelief. The others wondered about this as well and wondered what the tribal marked soldier found out. Ryker noticed that he did something he shouldn't have done and quickly regained his composure. He cleared his throat and put the dart into the case.

"All I could figure out was that the poison was a curare extract, a plant of which contains highly toxic chemicals and if it makes contact with the skin, paralyzes the diaphragm as well as resticts the victim's muscles with the toxins and if it maintains for a few minutes, the victim would mostly likely die. However, if the dose is administered with more than a dime sized drip, the victim will die in seconds. That explains why there was no signs of struggle in Hrothgar's quarters." Ryker explained, impressing them immensely.

Roark nearly burned all the documents on his table when he lunged at Ryker, gripping the SF Squadron 5 leader by the shoulders.

"How could you tell! You simply sniffed the damn thing!" Roark exclaimed much to the other's amusement though it was a wonder for Grace and Vargulf as well as to how Ryker found that out.

Ryker remained calm despite the situation and looked at the Infernape. The Colonel suddenly felt submissive after looking into the eyes of The Alpha and sank back to his previous spot in the chair. This amazed his whole squadron and before the four of them got the chance to ask, Ryker began talking again.

"Now that you're calmed down Colonel, I will now explain myself. The reason why I knew that is because when I was but a child, other than running around and exercising, I also enjoyed reading. Actually, I still do but that's not the point. When I was in my early teenage years, I had a book that contained every herb, plant, and berries known to man and pokemon. I took the liberty and ended up reading the whole thing. I even memorized more than half the book. As for smelling the dart, my nose, ears, and eyes are _REALLY_ hypersensitive since birth. I simply recognized this curare poison by its scent because someone actually tried to use it on me but I ended up pulling through." Ryker explained.

This shocked the Colonel and his squadron save for Aurora and Balto but Aurora was the only one who knew that Ryker read the aforementioned book. The Colonel suddenly pulled out a laptop from beneath the desk and cooked an eyebrow at Ryker.

"What was that book's title?" Roark asked, obviously skeptical of Ryker's claims.

Grace, Vargulf, and Balto immediately knew how this was going to end up and wondered if Ryker was telling the truth about the memorization part. Ryker though still remained cool-headed as ever and answered Roark's question, accepting the unannounced challenge.

"Survival Anthology by Professor Oak, Birch, Rowan, Sycamore, Juniper, Krane, and Elm." Ryker replied making the others sweatdrop at the long list of authors who were all pokemon professors.

Roark typed in just that and up came many results about that very book. Apparently, only seven of them have been made. Roark clicked on one of the sites and started scrolling through the table of contents of the book. He clicked on a link that lead him to part of the book.

"What would I find on chapter 23 and it's content, Fang?" Roark asked smugly, completely confidant that the soldier before him was only putting on a farce.

However, after scratching his chin and thinking for a few moments to access the deep recesses of his memory, Ryker finally came up to Roark and answered in monotone like a cold-blooded soldier.

"Pomeg Berries and Aloe Leaves is the chapter title. As for content, they give information about the Aloe plant's healing properties and also it's many nutrients. They explain the usage of the Pomeg Berry and its properties as well such as it being sweet and spicy and the fact that it is used as pokeblocks as well. When eaten, it will make a pokemon friendlier but will lower its base endurance and stamina. Aloe is found in warn climates in Hoenn, Kanto, and Unova while Pomeg can be found everywhere except Orre."

Silence. It was all that could be called after Ryker's explanation. No one said a word and Roark paled a few shades lighter. His expression was erratic, changing from angry to surprise to shock then back to angry. Ryker's squadron looked at the laptop which was turned by Roark for them to see. The screen read: Pomeg Berries and Aloe Leaves. It also gave some descriptions on the two as well as give their locations and usages.

"I do not believe this. I can't believe this. Fang, you are an extraordinary man. In fact, all of you get a promotion!" Roark praised as he turned off his laptop.

At this, Grace nearly jumped and Vargulf smiled widely. Balto pumped a fist in the air and Aurora saluted with a grin. Ryker saluted as well but unlike the others, remained emotionless as ever. Roark pulled out the necessary emblems and after a while, sewed it onto their uniforms. Ryker was now First Sergeant, Balto: Staff Sergeant, Aurora: Staff Sergeant, Grace: Staff Sergeant, and Vargulf: Sergeant First Class. Roark looked at Ryker and smiled, clasping his hands together when he sat back onto his chair behind his desk.

"Now that you're First Sergeant, Alpha Fang, you now have the choice to change your current force. You don't have to be SF anymore and you can get yourself a whole platoon of you want to. Would you let me arrange that for you?" Roark asked excitedly.

At this, Ryker's squadron were quite shocked and looked at Ryker in disbelief. Aurora frowned but kept it hidden. She just came to the squadron today and she hadn't seen Ryker for a while and now they're going to move him? Balto remained calm and figured that if Ryker were to move, he would just break some rules or move with him. Grace and Vargulf, however, were worried. They didn't want their leader to go. Not after all those years of standing by his side and following him into operations. Grace let out a small but unnoticeable whimper and Ryker nearly laughed out loud when he heard it. Finally, after what seemed like ages, Ryker stepped up and saluted to the Colonel.

"I rather not transfer sir. I have a squadron here to lead and SF is the only way I can use my skills efficiently (not that he was bad anywhere else). I would like to remain here if that is not too much trouble for you, Colonel."

His squadmates nearly cheered but they restrained themselves and instead of cheering, big and wide smiles plastered their faces. Roark smiled and shook his head, checking the clock when he did so which read 7:30 p.m.

"Of course not, Fang. You can stay if you like. Now, onto more pressing matters." Roark stated as he turned serious once more.

He pulled out another file labeled "APPROVED" and handed it to Ryker who opened it to view it's contents. It was an assignment, an operation which was Special Forces worthy.

"You are to leave and go investigate an area near New Bark Town. We have gathered information from the residents that there was a military camp nearby and every few days, they would go and beat the residents for money. Also, Gleaming Jade's leader, Fort, a Torterra who was apparently supposed to supervise the soldiers, was spotted as well. I want you to capture him and eliminate any other hostiles without any collateral damage to the town. Any questions?" Roark informed as he clasped his hands together again.

Ryker finished reading the assignment shook his head to the Colonel. Then, the Colonel stood up and salted, earning a salute from Squadron 5 as well.

"You will leave tomorrow at 0400. Anyone who is late will be left behind with no second chances." Roark added.

"Sir, yes, sir!" was their reply and the Colonel returned to sit his seat while waving his hand at them.

"Dismissed." he told them and they filed out of the room.

 **At the barracks**

Ryker was still up and was assembling parts of a pistol together on a desk. He had just finished his early morning exercises and came back from his run. What he found earlier was still stuck in his mind.

 _It couldn't be. No, there's no other person that I know of with that scent. Maybe brainwashed with the serum? Whatever the case, that dart was-_

"Are you still up? We're leaving at four, you know?" Aurora whispered making him stop what he was doing.

Ryker turned around and smiled, making his lover shudder as she felt warmth spread throughout her whole system. They were finally back together and weren't separated anymore. She missed him and his love towards her.

"We are going to be transported by a stealth helicopter and even with that it will take a while to reach our destination. I can sleep then." he replied just as quietly.

Though all the whispering was unnecessary, their squadmates were pretty heavy sleepers but were still trained to be alert. Aurora rolled her eyes and gave him a hug, digging her head within the crook of his neck. Ryker noticed that she was hugging him quite tightly and wasn't intent on letting him go.

"Well since we're leaving in about four hours, you want to help me pack my equipment?" she asked him while gesturing to a duffel bag.

Ryker smiled and nodded and stood up. He and Aurora began to prepare for the mission, packing fatigues, toothbrushes, and the other necessities. Aurora almost swore she saw Ryker take out a grenade from his duffel bag. Maybe that was from the last mission? But who puts a grenade in a duffle bag meant for clothing and bare necessities? After a while, they finished packing and Ryker told Aurora that the rest of the squadron will wake up in about two hours to pack their things. At this, Aurora put on a mischievous smile and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"That gives us enough time then to catch up then, don't you agree?" she asked.

Ryker smiled and summoned a soundproof barrier around his bunk as she pushed him onto it. Aurora moaned as Ryker nipped at her neck and massaged her back. As he did so, Aurora thought for a quick second about their relationship. Will they end up being mates? Would she be ready by then?.. Yes. One day, maybe that day, they'll be mates and that would make her the happiest female on the planet.

They kissed passionately and had a battle of dominance with their tongues. However, it seems like Ryker was winning this battle and his tongue easily dominated hers.

 _Such a good kisser..._ Aurora absently thought.

Aurora moaned again as Ryker hit a sweet spot in her mouth and she trailed one of her hands down to his chest. She felt his muscles and pecs, feeling the strong muscle tissue underneath his skin. She felt his abs and his obliques, the thought of his ten pack hung in her mind for a moment. She suddenly kissed Ryker with a lot more vigor, putting him on the defensive. Their battle of dominance soon turned to that of a stalemate and eventually they disconnected for air.

Ryker inhaled deeply, nerves stimulated from their actions. Then he smiled warmly at Aurora and began rubbing her back lovingly. Aurora cuddled closer to him, enjoying the warmth he gave off and the kisses he began to plant on her face. Ryker then let some of his instincts take over and began to lick Aurora's neck, his tongue gliding over her smooth and perfect skin. Since she was in her anthromorph form, she still had tiny fur strands on her body so when he licked her neck, he was also effectively cleaning her fur. Aurora gasped in pleasure when he did so and wrapped her arms around him since he was on top now thanks to his instincts. She looked into his eyes which were still warm and loving. However, this time they were dilated and they seemed to be so... entrancing. She knew that Ryker was still in there making sure he wasn't going to do anything wrong and she also knew that by letting go his instincts take over, his inner wolf will take over most of his actions.

Ryker continued to lick her neck then traveled up to her face. Aurora smiled as she felt the warm appendage make contact with her cheek and giggled when he tickled her in some spots. Then, when she looked into his eyes again, she knew why the Colonel reacted the way he did before he calmed down. He was looking into the eyes of The Alpha. When she thought about this, she didn't notice that Ryker's tongue had traveled down to her collarbone. Aurora moaned again and this urged him to please her even more. Ryker let out a small growl and quickly took off her shirt, revealing a blue bra underneath. Aurora blushed when he did this but didn't stop him from his actions. Ryker then lowered his face and licked at the nipple bud underneath the left bra. Even though her bra was still on, Aurora arched her back as the pleasure shocked her like a **Thunderbolt** attack. Ryker then suddenly withdrew, a shocked gasp escaping his lips. Aurora looked up to see the spot he licked and saw that one of her bra cups were soaked by his tongue. Her nipples were erected by the stimulation and she crossed her legs as she felt that she was getting wet.

 _We were really going to mate if he didn't stop... But I wouldn't have minded if it was with him and him only._ Aurora thought as she looked at Ryker wondering why he had stopped.

She saw Ryker leaning against the bunk frame shaking his head whilst blinking. When he blinked a few times, his pupils returned to their normal states and he looked like he was about to panic.

"A-A-Aurora. I'm so sorry! I'm sorry! I shouldn't have done that to you-!"

He was interrupted when suddenly Aurora hugged him tightly, both of them turning a few shades of red due to her in only a bra and in close contact. Aurora looked at him straight in the eye and kissed him on the lips, much to his surprise. Aurora withdrew and blushed harder while smiling.

"It's ok, Ryker, you didn't have control over yourself-"

"It shouldn't matter! I'm a full grown Fenrir and I should know not to allow my instincts take over! What I have done is unacce-!" he retorted but was stopped by Aurora who put a finger in his lips.

Aurora blushed harder and looked down at the floor. She smiled and leaned her head against his chest whilst hugging him.

"I love you Ryker and when you did what you did, I didn't feel any negative intent. It was all of your love for me that I felt so it's alright. I know you love me for me not for sex and my looks. I LOVE you Ryker and.. "

Aurora traced her finger around her leg, turning red from embarrassment. She couldn't look at him at the moment, not with the next words that are going to leave her mouth.

".. and I didn't mind it one bit when you advanced on me like that, even with your instincts taking over. As long as it's with you, I'm ok with mating. Besides, I know I'm ready for it so whenever you want Ryker, I'm ready and I'm happy to start a family with you." she finished.

Ryker was speechless, but that quickly passed and he hugged her, apologizing and kissing her. Aurora smiled, happy to know that he accepted this and vice versa.

"I would love more than anything to start a family with you Aurora. Though I don't think NOW is the right time for it, especially during the war. But one day," Ryker lifted her head by the chin," I will propose to you and our family will be started. I love you too Aurora and if you ever get hurt or uncomfortable because of me, then don't be afraid to tell me. Earlier when my instincts took over, I didn't want to go too far and end up hurting you."

Aurora teared up and hugged him harder. Aurora loved him and him her. Aurora thought about all the times he was there for her and all the times he had protected her from harm. She also noticed for the first time that his breath smelled like coffee, a nice smell despite the fact that it came from his mouth. Eventually, an hour or so passed and they separated, Aurora on the bottom left bunk and Ryker back on the desk to finish assembling the gun. Aurora smiled as he assembled it with ease and swiftness, realizing that if he put his mind to it, he could do anything.

 **Later**

The helicopter soared across the Kanto Region, zooming over numerous trees, routes, and mountains. Within the helicopter seated Squadron 5, Ryker, Vargulf, and Balto on one side and Grace and Aurora on the other. They all had large earmuff radios that enabled them to speak to each other without the blades of the helicopter hampering their sense of hearing. Grace looked to her right to see Master Sergeant Byrd, a Honchkrow anthromorph who was assigned to oversee the mission. Although his rank was lower to that of Ryker's, Byrd had more experience and served the military for about two decades.

"We're almost reaching our drop-off point! When we do, we'll go over our plan of catching Fort!" Byrd shouted over the din, earning nods from the Special Forces squadron.

The helicopter eventually slowed slightly and began to decrease in altitude. When it was low enough, the pilot turned around and signaled them to go.

"This is as far as I can go! I gotta head back and refuel! Good luck, all of you!" the pilot told them as they removed their headsets and disembarked their means of transportation.

The helicopter took off again leaving the group in the middle of an open meadow where Byrd immediately took command, much to the others' dislike. He lowered his voice and began gesturing to parts of the forest behind them.

"Delta and Charlie, you two get on the trees and scout for us as we press on. Alpha, take the front and lead on and Echo, follow suit. Bravo, cover our sixes and notify me if we are being tailed." Byrd commanded, annoying the squadron.

Byrd felt a vein in his head burst as they instead of following his orders, looked at Ryker for instruction. Said Shadow Hunter remained expressionless and simply nodded, signaling for them to just go with it until the mission is over with. After a few growls of annoyance, the five assumed their positions and did as Byrd told. Ryker led ahead, scanning the foliage as well as taking a few sniffs, isolating scents that ranged from pokemon, to a dead carcass of a pokemon somewhere, to the pure scent of a spring nearby.

They advanced for maybe an hour or so, each of them fully alert and constantly scanning for hostile pokemon and/or humans. At one point, Ryker spotted evidence of a hostile camp nearby, a paw print freshly made on the ground below them.

"*crack* Bravo reporting to Alpha, seven tangoes spotted ahead atop a hill." Balto informed Ryker and the group through his radio mic built into his collar.

Ryker looked at Byrd who gave him and Aurora some sort of hand gesture, signaling them to move with caution. Ryker looked at Aurora who nodded and together, the three of them trekked through the foliage. Another several feet, they came upon the edge of a clearing and saw seven figures, all huddled around a pit that must have been for their fire for the night prior.

"*crack* All hunters, save for Echo, report and state your position." Ryker muttered into his mic.

"*crack* Bravo reporting. I'm positioned in a crevasse several meters east of hostiles." Balto reported.

"*crack* Charlie checking in to say I'm positioned on a tree branch south from targets and about seven feet above the ground. Ready to engage." Grace replied with excitement coursing through her veins though she remained professional.

"*crack* Delta here. I'm five feet above the ground on a tree trunk west from hostiles. Ready as always." Vargulf stated.

Ryker nodded and looked at Byrd who had a pair of high-tech binoculars on. He lowered them and reported into his mic.

"ID confirmed. Fort, the target Torterra, is among them. Do not kill, I repeat, do not terminate." Byrd ordered.

Ryker frowned and rubbed his chin, wondering what to do with the situation. There were seven enemies and five, not including Byrd, of them. Ryker focused his sight on the figures around the pit to see that each one was a different pokemon. One Tropius, one Weaville, an Ivysaur , two Machoke, a Cacturn, and the target, Fort.

"*crack* Bravo takes the Tropius, Charlie gets the Weaville, Delta takes out the Ivysaur, Echo gets Cacturn, and I'll get the two Machoke. Do all of you copy?" Ryker droned onto his mic.

"Roger that." was all of their replies.

Byrd then suddenly cut in on their communication lines and gave another command, annoying The Alpha's squadron. Ryker frowned as he was starting to get really annoyed that a frail bird is commanding his squad like he has actual power to back up his command.

"No room for multiple prisoners of war, terminate ALL the other hostiles." Byrd stated as he moved into position.

This aroused a feeling of grim from Squadron 5. Ryker simply moved across the field with swiftness and got into position, completely invisible to the others.

"...*crack*...On my go, engage, clean kills everyone." he stated without emotions, sending shivers down his squad's backs.

He stretched his muscles under the cover of the foliage. He knew that though his squadron was trained to kill without hesitation of any kind of any hindering feelings. But he knew that they were still uncomfortable with just flat out killing the hostiles while hiding. It may have been better if they attacked with the enemy full aware instead of using stealth. But then again, that's what they were trained to do...

Aurora knew she had to follow orders but she couldn't help but hesitate when she overheard the hostiles' conversations.

"-wait to get home to my wife and kids. Haven't seen them in forever."

"You got family? Good for you man, I got a lady back at Celedon and before we left, she told me she was carrying. We'll have our child anytime now."

"Congrats! Now we HAVE to get you back!"

Aurora was aiming at her target, her barrel shaking due to her hesitation. What was this? She did this before she joined SF so what's so different now? She nearly dropped her rifle when she heard laughter from the circle of friends. She then took a deep breath and relaxed.

 _Can't turn back... Ryker and Balto warned you about these kind of things._ she thought.

"*crack* Engage." Ryker commanded and all hell broke loose.

Aurora pulled the trigger and a split second later, the bullet tore through the Cacturn's head and blood as well as brain matter sprayed his partner behind him who flinched as the bullet skimmed his cheek. Not even a fraction of a second later, three more bullets sprayed the air and made contact with their targets who landed with multiple thuds and raspy gasps. Fort stared wide eyed in horror, unable to move, unable to wipe off the chunk of Ivysaur off his face. Suddenly, the sound of a fist connecting with a surface filled the air. One of the Machoke wailed in agony as Ryker withdrew his fist from the muscled pokemon's back. The other Machoke growled and pulled out a switchblade.

"You bastard!" he exclaimed as he swung at Ryker.

Said Special Forces leader simply caught the Machoke's arm midswing and with his other hand, thrusted into the same arm at the elbow the _opposite_ direction. The Machoke screamed out in pained cries as his arm snapped and the rest of Squadron 5 winced when they saw a bone sticking out of the purple humanoid's arm. Ryker then let go and turned around to face the other Machine who recovered from Ryker's initial strike. He charged a **Strength** and barreled towards Ryker who simply sidestepped, lodged his foot in between the pokemon's legs, and took his arm and with little force, backhanded the Machoke in the back of the head which sent the purple body builder face first to the floor whilst creating a semi large crater. Ryker turned around one final time and leaned backwards as a switchblade flew past his nose. He then righted himself and smirked coldly as he saw the shocked expression on the Machoke's face. Suddenly, he was in the Machoke's face and with a little more force than he used with the other Machoke, thrusted upwards into his opponent's chin, snapping his neck. Ryker took a step back as the now lifeless body fell forwards and onto the floor in an awkward position. Ryker scanned the area, making sure Fort didn't try to escape. After confirming there were no more hostiles, he spoke into his mic.

"*crack* Clear. Remain on standby." he commanded and looked at Fort who sat down on a log.

His hands were binded behind his back and Ryker looked to the right to see Byrd with a smirk on his face. Byrd then brandished a set of keys and hooked it onto his belt, making it jingle and shine on the fading sunlight. Ryker sniffed the air, much to some of their confusion, and frowned.

"*crack* Echo, stand guard for me while I make a five mile radius rounds in the area." Ryker stated and almost immediately, Aurora appeared by his side.

Ryker turned to Fort and gave him a blank emotionless look. He then made a gesture with his figure indicating the surrounding area.

"Do not attempt to escape. I have a dozen highly trained snipers with their sights fixed on you. Any sudden movements will result in your death. Cooperate and we will figure something out. Resist and we will use ANY means necessary to extract information out of you." Ryker told Fort as he left to meet up with Balto.

Aurora inwardly smiled grimly and Byrd was slightly impressed that Ryker told a huge bluff just like that expertly. It was a smart move and one that may have sealed the outcome of their mission. Aurora looked at Fort who was at the moment looking at Byrd.

"Well, well," Byrd sneered as he spat at the Torterra's feet, "look at you. Your troops are dead and you're outnumbered. What should you do now, barbarian?"

Fort narrowed his eyes and stomped his feet in anger. He gave Byrd a look filled with fury and disdain.

"BARBARIANS? You should be the last one talking!" Fort screamed, his face gaining a shade of red.

"And why is that? Is it because we killed your so-called friends? I'm sure you have more and if you're not willing to give us answers, we can find more of you. " Byrd replied, an arrogant smirk plastered on his face.

Fort calmed a bit and Aurora noticed he had a sad look upon his face. Fort clenched his hands together tightly and let out a somewhat steady sigh

" They _were_ my friends, good men too. They didn't deserve that." he retorted.

"Pfft. Good men? You, the leader of Gleaming Jade, and your soldiers all killed innocent people all the t-"

"We NEVER killed innocent people!" Fort yelled at the top of his lungs, sending spittle all over Byrd's face.

The Honchkrow wiped off the spit and began to walk away.

"Get information out of him." Byrd told Aurora who was barely able to restrain from sending an **Ice Beam** at the black bird.

Byrd pulled out a radio and started to ramble off, calling for an extraction and listing off coordinates.

"i know you're not the same as other soldiers." Fort suddenly spoke to Aurora who raised an eyebrow at him.

"I bet he gave you and the black haired guy from earlier orders to do it." fort continued, looking down at his feet.

Aurora wondered where he was going with this and knowing he won't attempt to resist her in any way, she lowered her rifle.

"What can you tell us about the hyptonic?" she asked.

Fort stiffened at the mention of the serum and shook his head.

"The hyptonic was used to brainwash others and put them under the administer's control, as you know. It was developed Lich, a Sceptile who is the mastermind behind all of this. He created the serum with a mixture of Musharna blood and Hypno brain tissue. He keeps extras in the bulbs on his back. As for Gleaming Jade, we are a group aimed towards peace between Kanto and Johto. We weren't the ones who kidnapped people and pokemon but Lich did. They are trained to be killers and if they don't satisfy him, he gives the unsatisfactory ones to us. However, we of the Gleaming Jade are not actually on either sides of the war. Like I said before, we aim for peace and the only way to do that is to kill the leader of all operations from both regions."

He looked at Aurora who had a look of confusion upon her face. She suddenly shook her head and gave him a stern look.

"You should know that killing others won't stop a war. If anything, it'll make it worse. A world without wars and disputes would be ideal, yes, but is impossible. All you're doing is just killing. I know we of the Kanto Army are not much better but most of us have-."

"Then why do you fight? Isn't it for the same reasons we do? Aren't you just being a hypocrite?" Fort interrupted.

Ryker suddenly appeared next to Aurora, a dark and serious look on his face. His sudden appearance shocked both personnel but they recovered soon after. Ryker walked up to Fort and stated him straight in the eye.

"We fight for the people. That's all the reason to fight for. Our families and friends, though I'm sure your reasons are the same." he answered in monotone.

Aurora smiled despite the situation. She would've hugged him if they weren't in the middle of a mission. Fort narrowed his eyes at Ryker.

"What do _you_ fight for? We all fight for the people but everyone has their own personal reasons."

Ryker got up and started looked at the sky above them, numerous clouds covered the area and it didn't look like it was going to rain anytime soon.

"Honestly, I only fight for a small group of people, my family and a few friends. I don't give a damn about the rest of the world."

His question quickly made Aurora sweatdrop and Fort beyond shocked. However, Ryker didn't let up and he got straight to the point.

"Is there any known antidote for the hyptonic serum?" he asked.

Fort frowned and looked at the floor. He nodded and kneaded his forehead with his overly large hands.

"The leaves and spores of a Roserade." Fort replied.

Ryker then nodded and looked at Aurora whilst gesturing towards the rest of the forest.

"There are hostiles, about fifty or so, coming this way. Bravo and I already have a plan to counter so-" Ryker began but his ears suddenly twitched.

Within a split of a millisecond, Ryker grabbed Aurora and both tumbled to the ground as a bullet perpetrated Fort's skull.

"Contact!" Ryker announced as a squawk filled the air.

Aurora and Ryker looked to see Byrd toppling to the ground, blood leaking from a bullet hole in his neck. A spray of bullets covered the area where he and Aurora were standing at just seconds before. Sounds of gunfire filled the forest but they knew that their squadmates would be fine.

Ahead of them, a Sceptile stepped into view. He looked at Fort's corpse and shook his head as he lowered his rifle.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Fort always talked too much. Sorry you two had to see that. Anyways, that horrible excuse of a soldier already told you my name so let's just skip the formalities and get started." Lich stated as he threw down his rifle and transformed into his normal pokemon form.

Aurora and Ryker both got in a fighting stance. However, Aurora gave Ryker a reassuring look and shook her head.

"Let me take him. I'll be fine." she told Ryker.

Ryker gave her a concerned look for a second or so before finally nodding.

"I'll aid the others. Be careful." he replied.

" _You_ be careful." she shot back with a small smile, knowing that he would raise hell for whoever that are attacking them.

He nodded and surprised, no, BEYOND surprised Aurora as he pulled out his weapons. In his hands were identical pistols, both black with integrated silencer attachments. The magazines seemed to be extended but not that much. What she DIDN'T know was that the guns were equipped with Full Metal Jacket bullets. Not only that, the bullets were incendiary and that he had it custom made.

He pulled back both slides and walked off, leaving Aurora with a shocked expression. She never seen him use guns before but in war, you going to have to. Aurora then regained her composure and looked at Lich who was sharpening the blade-like edges of his leaves. Aurora shifted into her **Altered Forum,** greatly surprising her opponent.

"My, a legendary? When I beat you senseless I will administer the hypnotic to you and see how far I can make you go." he remarked as he shot an **Energy Ball** at her.

She dodged it quite easily and ran behind him with a burst of speed. Before he got to turn around, she nailed him with an **Ice Fang,** making him scream in pain and drawing blood from his shoulder. He whipped her off with his tail then took a few steps back. Aurora smiled despite the situation and stretched her legs.

 _You can't use your serum on me if you can't even catch me._ she told him, causing a vein to bulge on his head.

He fired a **Seed Bomb** but Aurora simply sidestepped. She smirked and Lich growled and fired a **Leaf Storm.** She quickly flapped her wings and blew away the leaves with ease. However, she didn't expect a tiny prick in her leg. She looked and saw a seed sticking out of her left foreleg.

 _So, you hid a_ _ **Leech Seed**_ _in the_ _ **Leaf Storm.**_ _Clever._ she remarked as she pulled out the seed.

Lich suddenly charged her and was about to lop off her head with a **Leaf Blade** but stopped when he suddenly had an icicle in his leg. He got on one knee and clenched his teeth, silently hissing in pain. He looked at Aurora who had a serious face and a stern look.

 _He was a good person, you know. You shouldn't have killed him._

Lich didn't get to comment because she then knocked him into the air and slammed him into the ground. When the dust cleared, it revealed a heavily damaged Sceptile with a sinister smile. He then laughed out loud and withdrew something from pouch. Aurora realized that it was a megastone and prepared for it. She summoned her armor and it materialized on her as usual. She then tensed her muscles, preparing to move quickly if needed to. She saw a bright purple flash and saw that Lich has finished mega-evolving. Said M-Sceptile smirked and charged at her with surprising swiftness. This time however, he disappeared and attacked from behind. Aurora blocked it with her armored wing and shot a **Dry Beam** at him. He paled and screamed as it made contact with his arm but he recovered quickly since his mega-evolution allowed him to take more pain. He then surprised her by using a **Frenzy Plant** at close range.

Roots erupted from the ground and struck her side, making her inhale sharply in pain. She then flew to the sky and landed several feet away. She knew Lich had to recharge so she took this chance to assess her wounds. That last attack had inflicted several gashes as well as a small bleeding hole in her side. She began to recover as she healed some of her wounds and saved the rest of her energy for the rest of the battle. She looked at Lich who was beginning to recover from the last move.

 _He's tired and he's using heavy-hitting attacks. If all goes well, I walk out of here with a few scrapes and bruises but nothing more._ she concluded and dodged a **Razor Leaf** attack from Lich.

She then got on the offensive and rushed towards the M-Sceptile, firing _multiple_ **Ice Beams** in quick succession. Surprised by this sudden onslaught, Lich tried to avoid them all but Aurora manged to freeze his leg and one of his arms. She then rammed into him, sending him flying several feet away. Without letting up, she rushed over and summoned two icicles and drove them into his shoulders, one in each.

"Aaaaargh!" he wailed in pokespeech but she didn't have to ask him to know that he was screaming in pain.

 _Where is all of the kidnapped pokemon and give me the coordinates to where you're producing the hypnotic._ she commanded.

He gave her a look that basically spat "screw you" in her face. She then gave a cold smirk and made the icicles in his shoulders become dry ice. This made him scream with extreme agony, flailing around as the ice rendered his muscle system useless and now guaranteed that he would no longer have the use of his arms.

 **Five pained filled minutes later...**

Aurora looked at the piece of paper in her hands. She coerced Lich into telling her the location of the kidnapped people and pokemon as well as where the hypnotic was produced. She looked at Lich who was reverted back to his normal form.

"Is that all?" she asked.

"Yes, damn you!" he snarled from under her foot... she had beaten him pretty badly.

She sensed that he was telling the truth and folded the piece of paper before placing it into her pocket. She then turned away and began to walk away. She was giving him the chance to stay there and surrender without trouble, however, as with almost all soldiers, her naivety earned her some bad results.

She heard a whistling noise and moved her head to the side to see a **Solarbeam** fly by. She turned around to counter but widened her eyes as a bullet shot filled the air. Lich now had a hole in his head and his body bursted into black flames, devouring everything and hungrily ate at his leaves. Aurora looked to her right to see Ryker lowering one of his pistols. The look on his face described one of a cold relentless soldier, one that gets the job done with no questions asked.

"I didn't know you use guns." Aurora commented.

He looked at her and nodded, checking the magazine of his guns.

"I only use them here in Special Forces and I try not to use them as much. If I use my swords, they will question a lot." he replied whilst checking her over.

Aurora smiled and elbowed him in the side.

"I'm okay, Alpha. He didn't really put up much of a fight anyways."

Ryker nodded but the sound of gunfire and helicopter blades filled the air. Balto, Grace, and Vargulf ran up to them.

"Enemy reinforcements." Grace stated.

Ryker nodded and pointed to Byrd's corpse whilst gesturing at the helicopter above them.

"There's the extraction he called." Ryker remarked.

They nodded but Balto spoke up whilst firing a round or two into the forest hitting someone hostile.

"I swear I was going to beat his ass if he gave us another order."

The others nodded in agreement and when the helicopter got low enough, they got inside whilst ducking to avoid the spray of hostile bullets.

"Get in! Get in!" the pilot rushed them and flinched as a bullet made contact with his door.

"Bravo." Ryker stated and they all turned to see Balto nod and pull out a box.

Aurora was confused and wondered what it was. Balto suddenly opened it and it revealed a switch of some kind.

"Go now!" he told the pilot and they flew off.

Balto let out a small but audible sigh before flipping the switch and pushing a few buttons. He then pushed a large red button but nothing happened. They waited for a few moments and all of the sudden, a large explosion occupied the spot where they were standing just minutes before.

"Multiple KIA. Good work." the pilot told them.

Balto simply nodded and Aurora realized that he had planned this with Ryker earlier when Fort was shot. She then felt the negative feelings emitting from her squadron. She then too, hoped that this war would end soon.

 **Colonel Roark's Office**

"Roserade buds and leaves, huh? I'll see what we can do." Roark stated as he finished reading the report Ryker gave him.

Roark looked at Ryker and gave him a nod of approval before sitting down onto his seat. Roark looked at Aurora who was looking at her feet the entire time.

"Good work, North. That goes for all of you. However," Roark stood up and began to file some paperwork, "don't think this is all over. We still have some people and pokemon to rescue soon."

"Sir, yes sir!" was Squadron 5's reply.

"Dismissed." Roark told them and they all filed out of his room.

As they were walking down the hallway, Ryker noticed that Aurora was looking rather down lately. It has been about half a day since they returned and she hasn't said anything the entire time. He decided to question her later.

"Glad that's over." Balto remarked as they turned a corner.

"Yeah, that was pretty intense." Grave replied whilst moving her bangs out of her vision.

"Hey, at least we took down Lich and figured out where the rest of the hypnotic serum are as well as the kidnap victims." Vargulf added.

Balto sped up a little and walked along Ryker's side. He poked the hunter on the shoulder and cleared his throat.

"What's your thoughts on this, Alpha?" Balto asked as Ryker turned his head to reply.

Ryker gave him a blank look and shrugged his shoulders. They reached the exit and made their way towards the barracks.

"I'm just glad we were successful is all. Nothing else." he replied.

Aurora arched an eyebrow and queried if that was really all he thought. But then again, Ryker was always thinking. They reached the barracks and suddenly, Balto clapped his hands as an idea formed in his head.

"Hey, why don't we have a four on one manhunt in the simulation room? Us four against you, Alpha." he asked as the group stopped what they were doing.

They looked at Ryker who looked at them with a questioning look.

 _We are so screwed if this happens._ Aurora thought to herself.

"I'm up to it if the lot of you are." Ryker replied as he rolled his shoulders.

"That actually sounds fun right now." Grace remarked, Vargulf nodding his head in agreement.

They looked at Aurora who had yet to answer the challenge. She shifted as she felt all of their eyes upon her. Now she knew how Ryker felt with being the center of attention.

 _Strange. I'm okay whenever I sing in karaoke._ she told herself.

"Sure. Sounds like a challenge." she replied as she got up to leave.

Balto smiled and led them to the training area, opening the door to the simulation room. Vargulf cleared his throat and caught their attention.

"We are using the debilitation rounds, correct?" he asked as Ryker typed in the simulation settings.

"Of course, unless you rather use real bullets." Grace remarked.

Aurora then thought about the situation. Debilitation rounds were non-lethal bullets that explode on contact. When it does, it releases a gel-like substance that will restrict your movement. If you get hit with one in a fatal area, you would be taken out of the simulation. There was also debilitation melee weapons, guns, and grenades so every weapon there was safe.

They finished donning their equipment and choosing their weapons. Balto had a SPAS-12 shotgun and a Desert Eagle. Grace had a M16 assault rifle and a MI19 for her arsenal. Vargulf was equipped with a Lynx sniper rifle and a crossbow that was equipped with explosive arrows. Aurora had a Vector semi-machine gun and an Executioner, a custom pistol that had shotgun-like rounds instead of the normal bullets. The only thing Ryker had was his two silenced custom pistons equipped with debilitation rounds. Everyone had a melee knife, two flashbangs, and two grenades.

"Ready?" Ryker asked as he finished checking his equipment.

"Yeah but shouldn't we test the bullets just in case they don't release the gel?" Grace asked.

"Well if they don't, then I guess we can cheat." Balto remarked with a small laugh.

Ryker frowned at Balto and checked his bullets. He then pointed one of his pistols at Balto and fired right in between Balto's eyes making his brother fall backward and the gel to cover his entire face.

"They work." Ryker replied calmly, earning sweatdrops from the rest of his squadmates.

"I'll shut up now." Balto muttered as Vargulf helped him remove the gel.

Ryker nodded and pressed a red button on the computer which flashed and enveloped them all in a bright white light. Aurora and her team then found themselves in a jungle with light rain. Ryker was nowhere to be seen and they couldn't find any signs of him.

"Be on your guard." Balto warned as they slightly split up and moved forward.

Little did they know, Ryker had already found them and was stalking them from behind. He moved with complete stealth, avoiding twigs and leaves with every step. He noticed that Grace was farthest from the rest of the group and decided to go for her first. She moved past a tree and he quickly climbed it, his actions muted by the rain and thunder. He got on a wide branch and when Grace moved underneath him, he hung from the branch with his legs and initiated his attack. He struck her on the shoulder which caused her to drop her gun. However, she countered and turned around with a roundhouse kick aimed for his side. Ryker immediately dropped off from the branch and rolled to avoid the kick. He got up to catch the throwing knife that Grace had thrown at him and redirected it to the ground, burying it. He rolled backwards as a spray of bullets covered his earlier position and fired two shots from his pistols. They connected with Grace's firing arm, immobilizing it. She snarled and fired her pistol at him but he dodged them and knocked some back with his knife. She growled again when the knocked back bullets made contact with her left leg, forcing her on the ground. Ryker walked up to her and fired, shooting at her chest where her heart would be. She sighed and gave a thumbs-up as the disappeared from the simulation.

 **The other team's side**

"Did you hear something?" Vargulf asked his two partners.

The others shrugged and as soon as they did, their watches flashed as it was updated. It read: _GRACE LEGEND'S STATUS: TERMINATED_

Balto paled and quickly scanned the area with no luck. Vargulf and Aurora looked around as well, their luck faring no better than the aforementioned wolf.

"Sheeeeit." Vargulf muttered as they continued to search.

All of a sudden, two bullets made contact with Vargulf's back and he fell forward. Apparently, he wasn't injured enough to be considered dead so he stayed inside the simulation. Balto immediately grabbed Vargulf and the three started running like crazy, fearing the Shadow Hunter for he was right on their tails.

"Damn it. Damn it. Damn it all." Balto muttered as they ran, bullets shredding the foliage around them.

This caused Balto to slow a bit as Vargulf tapped his shoulder.

"Guys, he NEVER misses." he told them as he tried to remove the gel from his back.

 _*click*_

They looked at Balto who lifted his foot of the ground. It revealed a small button and all of a sudden, a large hole opened up from beneath them. However, they were barely able to grab the edge and hung from there. Balto was having major difficulty with hanging on since Vargulf was still on his back.

"Just leave me and go. He could be here any second!" Vargulf ranted.

Balto shook his head and started tearing up uncontrollably. He tried to pull Vargulf up but Vargulf smiled with a defeated look and suddenly let go and fell down the hole.

"Noooooooooo!" Balto howled as their watches read: _VARGULF SHADOW'S STATUS: TERMINATED_

They quickly scrambled up the ledge and panted in exhaustion. Balto punched the ground and looked at Aurora, a fiery passion was evident in his eyes.

"We may be in his element and territory, but we will NOT run away! Lets face him head on and beat his ass, Aurora!"

Aurora smiled a little and nodded, grabbing his arm and helping him up. She also wondered why they were acting so dramatically. They walked several steps five feet away from the hole. Aurora scanned the trees and foliage, well aware that a predator was watching them.

"Come on out, Alpha! You can't hide forever!" Balto yelled into the sky.

Aurora wondered if Ryker really _can_ hide forever. He is one of darkness and all and a true hunter. But then again, hiding in combat wasn't his style. Next thing they knew, a flashbang rolled into their field of vision and they immediately shielded their eyes. It went off and the piercing noise irritated Aurora's ears.

 _It must be pretty bad to Balto and Ryker too._ she thought as she opened her eyes.

She saw that Ryker and Balto were already in hand to hand combat. Balto pulled out a knife and swung at Ryker who ducked and punched his brother in the stomach, knocking the air out of his lungs. Aurora quickly aimed and fired at Ryker who rolled out of the way and threw a knife at her. She dodged it and used her pistol instead. She fired and multiple bullets sprayed the area before her. Ryker dodged but a bullet seemed to graze his side, covering his side with gel and somewhat limiting his movements. He landed and held his side, pulling out a pistol and aiming at Aurora. At this, Balto tackled Ryker and forced him to the ground. They exchanged a few swings and Balto ended it with a kick to Ryker's abdomen, sending his brother crashing into a tree. Aurora quickly aimed at the area of impact but saw Ryker's hand brandishing a pair of pins.

She looked at Balto who paled and looked at his belt. His grenades were hanging but they were missing their pins. Aurora dove clear of the area leaving Balto by himself. He gave up trying to unbuckle his belt and sighed defeatedly.

"Well played, sneaky bas-"

His position suddenly exploded and left behind a smoking crater. Aurora, being the only one left on her team, mentally prepared herself for her mate-to-be. She scanned the area and noticed that Ryker was nowhere to be seen. A plan then hatched in her head and she threw both of her flashbangs into the sky. She covered her eyes and the canisters went off, earning a small but audible grunt in an area to her right. She immediately opened her eyes and shot at Ryker's position, spraying the whole area with endless bullets. She then stopped and reloaded, checking her watch as she did so.

 _ALPHA FANG'S STATUS: ACTIVE_

Aurora's heart hammered in her ears and she quickly looked around for her enemy. She thought she heard a twig snap but dismissed it as her mind playing tricks on her. Her mind then wandered back to the mission she had just came back from. Was it right that they killed those seemingly innocent pokemon? Would Fort gave died if they hadn't interrogated him?

She jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She quickly turned around to see Ryker with a concerned expression upon his face. Her face was crestfallen and she didn't look like she was going to say anything at that moment.

"You don't look well and your anxiety levels are off the charts. I'll end the simulation." Ryker told her as he pressed a small button on a remote in his pocket

Their vision shimmered again and they found themselves back in the training room. Aurora looked to the left to see that Balto was angrily cleaning himself off by himself. There was an enormous amount of the gel on him.

"So much for help." he muttered as he gestured to Vargulf and Grace who were helping each other out.

Balto then noticed that Aurora's expression and he immediately became worried. He was about to bring it up but was cut off when Ryker suddenly walked past him and out the exit, earning looks of confusion from his squad.

"Did something happen?" Balto asked, completely forgetting about the gel coating his body.

Aurora said nothing but gave a small smile before leaving as well, setting down her equipment on the tables along the way. Aurora walked out of the building, her thoughts erratic and relentless. She walked towards the mess hall and decided to get something to eat. By the time she got there, there wasn't that long of a line so she got her food quickly. She walked over to one of the empty tables and started to eat, completely ignoring other soldiers and even the taste of her food. She was too focused on her own thoughts to be noticing anything else.

Her table shook as Balto sat across her, a little angry from their last encounter. He noticed that she was out of it and snapped his fingers, bringing her back to full attention. He then cleared his throat and let out a small growl.

"What the hell was that, Aurora? Is there something we should know?" he asked, his anger evident in his tone.

Aurora looked down at her plate and felt that she didn't need to eat anymore. She used **Psychic** and threw away the food, making sure the tray actually went back to one of the cook assistants.

"I don't want to talk about it." she finally answered, making Balto to nearly flip the table.

"What do you mean by that? Don't you see I'm trying to make you feel better?"

"Look, Balto, I'm sorry but I really don't want to get into it with you over something like this. I'm just fine and I rather not let everyone start worrying about me for something silly." she retorted.

"Well I'm sorry for worrying about my sister." he replied.

Aurora looked up and but her lip. She didn't want to be on bad terms with him and it actually warmed her that he had called her his sister. She then got up, walked around the table, and gave him a small hug from behind, greatly surprising Balto and completely destroying his angry mood.

"Just trust me on this, okay? I need to think about it for a while by myself." she told him.

Balto regained his composure and frowned. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot, wondering if she would be alright. He then sighed in defeat and nodded, making her smile.

"Thanks. Don't worry about me and thank you for being a lovable protective little brother." Aurora told him before giving him a quick hug and walked away.

Balto simply stood there, shocked out of his mind but snapped out of it when he spotted Grace and Vargulf looking at him from behind a wall. They snickered and Grace pointed a finger at him.

""Lovable little brother" ha! Hilarious!" she exclaimed making him turn red in embarrassment.

Balto then growled and started to chase after them throughout the base, knocking other soldiers down and vaulting over obstacles.

 **With Ryker**

Ryker grabbed his towel and walked towards the lake, tired and wanting to finish his day with a relaxing dip. There were unisex shower stalls in the Barracks but he preferred to go where he could be alone and not worry about anything. He reached the lake and took a deep breath, his body releasing all of its tension as he listened to the sounds of the waterfall. He let a small smile appear on his face and undressed. He didn't worry about getting spotted because this lake was about fifteen or so miles away from the base and because of his rank, he was allowed to leave base but was to return by 2400 hours. He got inside the lake and walked to the waterfall, planning to get under it so that the cascading water to envelop his body. He suddenly turned tomato red however when he spotted Aurora in the same exact spot he was headed for!

"A-A-Aurora! I didn't know you were here! I'll be going then!" he quickly yelled as he scrambled away.

He couldn't help but think though that Aurora was really beautiful in the moonlight. Her curves and her hair seemed to be too perfect to be real. He nearly punched himself when he noticed that he had accidentally caught a glimpse of her rump. He then felt a part of arms wrapped around him and froze.

"It's alright, Ryker. Besides, " Aurora stated as she blushed," we're going to have to get used to seeing each other like this if we are to be mates in the future."

Ryker swallowed the lump in his throat and slowly turned around, gaining a full view of Aurora and her body. She blushed even more and looked down at her reflection, too nervous to look directly at Ryker.

"Is... Is my body below your expectations?" she asked nervously, wondering if he thought that she wasn't good enough.

At this, Ryker regained his composure and successfully calmed himself. He closed the gap between them and enveloped her in a loving embrace.

"Don't say that Aurora. You have nothing to worry about. Everything about you is perfect and your body is no exception. I love you for you though, not for any personal gain." he told her.

Aurora smiled and hugged him back, making Ryker's heartbeat pound furiously. He felt two mounds press up against his chest and hoped to Arceus that a certain part of his body wouldn't react... violently. He then suddenly felt tears on his chest and frowned when he saw Aurora crying. He was about to question but was cut off before he got the chance to.

"How do you do it, Ryker? How? I killed and let one die."

Ryker then lifted her chin so that they were face to face. He cupped her face and leaned his head forward, making their foreheads touch.

"Is that what's bothering you?" he asked earning a nod from his lover.

"It's just that I know you killed others before and you walk away like it was nothing. The same goes for me since it's mandatory but this time, I feel like it's different. Fort, no, all the pokemon and humans in the war have families and we're killing them." she said whilst choking on her words.

Ryker said nothing but answered her anyway, giving her an answer that she will always remember to think about for days to come.

"Now you know what I have felt for years. All those people at my homeland... But eventually, I told myself I had to get used to it because this is life. If this is what it takes to ensure that my family is safe then so be it. However, there is not a single moment where I don't feel guilty about all those I killed. Now, I know it sounds horrible but I don't feel anything whenever I kill someone anymore. That's what happens if you let yourself go. But now that I have you, Balto, and the others, the fact that you are all still hanging around me means that I've been given a second chance."

"But aren't you scared? What if you just can't take it anymore and the next time you're thrown into battle you'll just give up and die?" Aurora asked him, tears no longer streaming from her eyes.

"Of course I'm scared. All I think about is the "what ifs" sometimes. But, as long as I have all of you to live for, I have nothing to worry about."

Aurora was surprised to hear The Alpha, her lover, to say that he was afraid but just by hearing that, she knew that he was dead serious and that he wouldn't go down that easily. None of them would.

Aurora smiled and kissed him on the cheek before hugging him again. The waterfall drowned out all other noise in the area and Aurora was glad that he came out there that night... not that she wasn't in the first place. She looked down at her reflection and marveled how much she had changed since she had met Ryker. She had some muscle and had gotten so much stronger than ever. Her abdominals were defined and her arms were well-toned. Her eyes then unconsciously wandered and when she realized it, she blushed madly as she saw the image in the water.

She saw his manhood.

She shook her head and immediately became extremely red at the fact. Ryker, however, was oblivious to this since his eyes were closed. It took a while, but Aurora finally calmed down and her thoughts wandered as well but she made sure they didn't leak.

 _It has to be at fifteen inches fully erected! And at LEAST twelve inches when it's not..._

She then came to the fact that it had to be bigger in his Fenrir form and nearly fainted at the thought. She, however, calmed down and thought that she might as well enjoy the moment they were having. She told herself that it was okay since that Ryker had seen her entirety so now they were even.

"Aurora." Ryker suddenly announced, snapping her out of her thoughts.

She gave him a questioning look and saw that he had a serious look upon his face. He took her hands into his and kissed them.

"When we get out of here, I'll make that the idea of being imperfect will never cross your mind. And when we're both ready, I'm sure you will be the best mother out there." he swore.

Aurora's knees buckled and she nearly fell. She suddenly squealed in happiness and threw herself at him. Laughter filled the air as Ryker swam away from her as she tried to catch up to him. Eventually, they calmed down and they decided to clean themselves before heading back to the base. Ryker offered some of his shampoo and bodywash bottles to Aurora who gladly accepted, causing Ryker to remark that scented shampoo and bodywash would tarnish her scent. She blushed and splashed him at this and warned that any other silver-tongued compliments would result in her drowning him in kisses.

He was barely able to resist saying anything else.

They finished bathing and decided to just relax since they didn't need to go back to the base until another couple of hours. They were conversing about myths and legends until Aurora brought up the subject of gods.

"Both the first Lord and Lady Arceus were created by God who also created the universe. The Arceus then created the first Dialga and Palkia to supervise Time and Space. Then came Giritina who took charge of the Distortion World and then Groudon and Kyogre who created the land and water. The rest you should know. Basically, the Legendaries have their gods, Lord and Lady Arceus, and they have their god, The God. The humans know this as well." Ryker explained.

Aurora gave him a smirk and exhaled.

"That actually clears up a lot. Maybe I should have paid attention to our teachers at Legendary Preparation University when it was still around."

Ryker smiled, a hint of amusement evident at the thought of a school for would-be legendaries. Aurora told him that now, you would have to past two tests to become part of the Legendary Council, to succeed at revealing your true form (got that covered) and defeating another legendary chosen at random in a mock battle...

"So will you become a legendary when all of this is done?" Aurora asked with puppy dog eyes.

Ryker sighed defeated and hugged her closer. He chuckled at the cute sight of her miniature wings (she was still in her anthromorphic form) and kissed her neck.

"Might as well. It's just like what I said before: I don't know how the other legendaries will take it."

Aurora smiled and buried her head into the crook of his neck, it officially becoming her favorite resting spot for her head.

"I'm sure you'll do fine, dear."

She then gave him another questioning look.

"Do any of the legendaries, besides me and Lord and Lady Arceus, know your true identity?" she asked, curiosity at its peak.

Ryker thought for a moment whilst scratching his chin. He then shook his head with a small frown.

"No, not even Lady Mew. I want to keep my existence as the last Fenrir to be confidential. I guess you're the first, besides Lady and Lord Arceus as well as Lord Demon and Lady Aniu, and the Pack, to know I really am."

Aurora felt proud somehow that she was the first that Ryker _intended_ to reveal his true form to. And with that, more questions popped into her mind.

"So how did the others find out?"

Ryker chuckled again and looked at a tiny fish near his foot.

"Lord and Lady Arceus knew the moment I was born. Apparently, my parents and their ancestors had an alliance with them. We were the only Fenrir who had an alliance with them though. The other packs either didn't care or didn't know about our friends of high authority."

Aurora nodded, taking in the new information and wondered how many different families of Fenrir there were.

"There weren't that many of us from the start. There was only seven families in history, half of us enemies of the other half." he answered for her unintentionally.

Aurora thought about the destruction they must have left behind as a result of their skirmishes.

"As for Lady Andy and Lord Demon, after I left my homeland and came here, I didn't care where I went and I came across their camp. I was a little pup back then and my wings were growing and my horns hadn't developed yet. I turned into my human disguise when one of their subordinates got too close but it was too late and he told Lady Andy and Lord Demon about me. They eventually found me and actually took me in since I was near death. I hadn't eaten anything nor did I drink since my family's deaths. They made the wolf scout swear to not tell anyone and it took me about a week to start eating again. Eventually, time went on and they gave me a decision to either stay or leave the pack. I chose the former since I became close with Balto by then." he finished whilst stretching his arms.

Aurora smiled and sighed contentedly. She leaned back against Ryker and rested her back atop of his chest. Already they were already getting used to each other's bareness and the fact that they did surprised her. Ryker summoned his watch which read 2327 and notified Aurora about it. She nodded and together, they dried themselves and got dressed.

"Here, get on my back and relax. I'll fly us there." Ryker told her as he transformed.

Aurora thought about the last time she saw him in his true form which was a long while ago. She noticed that she couldn't spot a single detail of him save for his eyes even in the moonlight of the night. All Aurora saw was pitch black fur and nothing else except for the flames that trailed his tribal-like markings. She smiled and got on his back and without warning, he took to the skies. She leaned against his back and breathed in his scent which always calmed her.

Ryker then started humming, something she rarely got to hear.

 _He must be happy then._ she thought.

And then, he began to sing a tune! This time by will!

 **"Night Changes"**

 _Going out tonight_

 _Changes into something red_

 _Her brothers doesn't like that kind of dress_

 _Everything she never had she's showing off_

 _Driving too fast_

 _Moon is breaking through her hair_

 _She's heading for something that she won't forget_

 _Having no regrets is all that she really wants_

 _We're only getting older, baby_

 _And I been thinking about it lately_

 _Does it ever drive you crazy_

 _Just how fast the night changes?_

 _Everything that you've ever dreamed of_

 _Disappearing when you wake up_

 _But there's nothing to be afraid of_

 _Even when the night changes_

 _It will never change me and you_

 _Chasing it tonight,_

 _Doubts are running 'round her head_

 _He's waiting, hides behind a masquerade_

 _Heart is beating loud, and she doesn't want it to stop_

 _Moving too fast_

 _Moon is lighting up her skin_

 _She's flying, doesn't even know it yet_

 _Having no regrets is all that she really wants_

 _We're only getting older, baby_

 _And I been thinking about it lately_

 _Does it ever drive you crazy_

 _Just how fast the night changes?_

 _Everything that you've ever dreamed of_

 _Disappearing when you wake up_

 _But there's nothing to be afraid of_

 _Even when the night changes_

 _It will never change me and you_ (Ryker flies above the clouds at this point)

 _Going out tonight_

 _Changes into something red_

 _Her brothers doesn't like that kind of dress_

 _Reminds her of the missing piece of innocence she lost_

 _We're only getting older, baby_

 _And I been thinking about it lately_

 _Does it ever drive you crazy_

 _Just how fast the night changes?_

 _Everything that you've ever dreamed of_

 _Disappearing when you wake up_

 _But there's nothing to be afraid of_

 _Even when the night changes_

 _It will never change, baby_

 _It will never change, baby_

 _It will never change me and you_

Ryker stopped singing and smiled as he looked at the moon. Little did he know, Aurora was about to hug him due to the fact that he sang for her without her needing to tell him. Plus, she thought that the song was beautiful and that it was unique in a way. Ryker felt her arms wrap around his neck lovingly and he let out a low growl in contentment. They flew until they reached about five miles outside the base's radar range. Ryker landed and together they walked to the entrance and went inside.

 **Barracks**

Ryker was laying in his newly obtained bed which became mandatory for him to use. Grace and Vargulf informed the higher ups about this and now he had to sleep in the bed to ensure he would actually be able to sleep and get enough rest for the next day. He was laying in the front of the room next to the desk. The others were sleeping next to the walls across from him so in a way, he can keep an eye in all of them. Ryker's phone vibrated and he pulled it out of his pocket. He sent a small jet of flame from his finger tip into a small hole on the back of his phone and the homescreen revealed itself. He went to his emails and found one sent from an unknown number. It read:

 _Hey Alpha, how's it going? It's been a while and I know it's pretty late but Lady A. told me that Saphira and I are being sent on a mission soon. Apparently, you and Aurora are to accompany us to help out if you don't mind. I guess that means we are going to have some fun again! Please come as soon as you can (if you want to) and have a good night! - Ragna_

 _How did he get my number? Lady Arceus maybe?_ Ryker thought.

He then smiled in amusement when he noticed that Ragna made sure to keep Jeanne's name confidential for safe purposes. Ryker then turned off his phone and put it in his pocket, making sure that it was still on vibrate. He then closed his eyes and waited for sleep to take him

 **In an unknown area within Sinnoh**

Rick sighed as he got up from his bed. He yawned and stretched, checking his arm blades for any rusting. Satisfied, he looked over at his bed and smiled as his mate rested peacefully. He then grunted as a sharp pain pierced his mind and his hair turned slightly blackish-red for a quick second before reverting back to their normal color. He slightly limped to his windowsill and bared his teeth, wishing that he could send a **Psycho Cataclysm** throughout the sky but he knew it would wake others as well. He groaned and checked his poketch which read: 10:29 a.m. Rick sighed and went inside his bathroom, putting toothpaste on his toothbrush as he began to brush his teeth.

 _Alright, let's see. I got Warlord duties today and I have to take Alara out on another date today. Nothing too much and maybe I'll throw in a movie night too. Though the problem is whether or not I should invite Jean..._ he thought to himself as he looked at his reflection in the mirror.

He then spat out onto the sink bowl and turned pale. He thought he had just saw a sinister version of himself that featured black-red hair and fangs. However, his reflection seemed normal at the moment. Rick shook his head and turned on the faucet, splashing water onto his face and rubbing his eyes. He then dried his face with a towel and noticed that he had claws. He then gave a small yelp and a voice resonated within his head.

 _ **Why not invite all of them so it could be easier for me to take them all out?**_ a demonic voice sounded in his head.

Rick frowned and shook his head, charging a **Shadow Ball** in case he needed to off himself in a few moments.

 _I thought I got rid of you, Alpha._ Rick thought with a chuckle to the fallen Legendary inside his head.

 _ **Well obviously, you didn't but hey, it has been a while. And calm down, I'm just kidding. I'm not the same bloodthirsty demon you knew anymore. By the way, Team Rocket has reformed and they have gotten worse. Just wanted to let you know. Ciao!**_

The presence within Rick/Aeruthael's head chuckled and vanished, calming Rick down a bit. His mate ran inside the bathroom, panting and had her right fist in preparation to swing.

 _I heard screaming, Rick. What happened? Are your parents coming over?_ she asked.

Rick shook his head and sighed as he laid a hand on her shoulder, calming her a little and pulled her into an embrace.

 _Thaelus is back and he warned me about a new Team Rocket out there._ he told her.

His mate gasped and she gave him a concerned look. She then poked his head with one of her three fingers and cooked her head to the side.

 _Are you playing around, Rick? If so, it's not funny._ she told him.

Rick gave her a serious look and bit his lip, not sure how she would take it.

 _No, Alara. I'm not kidding. Thaelus never lies._ he told her as he hugged her tighter, as if he was afraid of losing her at that moment.

Alara widened her eyes but soon recovered her composure as she hugged him back. She whispered soothing words into his ears and kissed him lightly on his forehead.

 _We put them away before and we can do it again._ she assured, making her lover smile and engage in a passionate kiss with her.

Little did they know, the new chairman of Team Rocket was reorganizing Team Rocket at that moment.

 **Back with Squadron 5**

Aurora ducked as a guard turned his head in her direction. She held her breath, waiting for the man to turn back around. When he did, she ran forward and jabbed at his pressure points, paralyzing him and rendering his vocal cords nearly useless.

"Whoeerr da furck are yerr?" he slurred.

She smacked the back of his neck with her hand and he went unconscious from the action. Aurora dragged the guard to a closet and stuffed him inside, making sure to lock the door and freezing the locks within.

"*crack* Guard seven taken out." Aurora spoke into her microphone in her collar.

"*crack* Good work, Echo, he was the last one. Let's all head to the rendezvous point." Ryker replied, earning a "Roger that." from his team.

Aurora went back the way she came and turned a few corners. Along the way, she noted the many stairways and elevators in the area. Eventually, she met up with the others in front of an office box within the building. With them, a large group of pokemon and humans were all huddled quietly. They were the kidnapped victims, some of them victims of the hypnotic. Luckily, however, they learned that no other personal were kidnapped since the month before.

"Alright everyone, you know the plan." Ryker stared, earning a nod from Vargulf and Aurora.

"*crack* Copy that." Balto and Grace replied from their positions.

Balto was currently setting up explosives and traps for when they evacuate the area. Grace was in one of the office rooms hacking security cameras and systems as well as taking over them.

"*crack* Rendezvous at the exit in 19 minutes then we'll blow this place to smithereens." Ryker added.

"*crack* Got it loud and clear." Balto replied.

"*crack* You guys better hurry. It won't take long for the staff to start finally noticing the missing guards and personnel." Grace wanted and they advanced.

Ryker led them down a hallway, checking corners and listening intently to the surrounding noises. He then gestured towards the exit which was all the way down the hall.

"Go in that direction and you should reach the exit. We have an ally out there and he'll make sure the lot of you are safe." Ryker told the group of people and pokemon.

They quietly cheered and started walking towards the exit. Some of them stopped and gave their thanks to the three of them of the Special Forces. There was at least fifty or so of them and as the last one left, Ryker led his two partners down another corridor whilst checking his watch which read: 14:32.26.

"Fourteen minutes. We need to hurry." Ryker told them, earning nods of confirmation from Aurora and Vargulf.

Vargulf was troubled though. The whole time they were there, he thought the facility looked really familiar. He frowned as they passed a door that for some reason, made him want to spit at it in disgust. He then thought about how some days, he doesn't even remember even going to the barracks to sleep. The thought reminded him of the time where he woke up with no memory of the night before and he felt extremely uneasy...

Eventually, Ryker led them to a door that read: TESTING LAB, DO NOT ENTER. He looked at them and counted down with his fingers.

Three. Two. One.

"Breach." Ryker said with a cold tone and threw in a flashbang as he opened the door.

A shout of surprise could be heard before the ear-numbing sound and blinding light of the flashback went off. Aurora went first, yelling "Contact" and neutralizing the two hostile targets to the left. Vargulf went next and disabled the ones on the right. Finally, Ryker took care of the hostiles in the middle of the room. There were twelve people total, not including Squadron 5, in the room. Some were scientists in lab coats and others were guards.

Vargulf noticed the head scientist and paled as he suddenly began to recover some of his memories. His mind reeled as images of the human flashed and swirled. He remembered needles and screaming as well as splashes of blood. He then remembered blowing on a dart shooter and killing someone... Someone he was under the command of...

Vargulf screamed and held onto his head, getting on his knees and slamming his fists onto the floor. Aurora ran up next to him and tried to calm him down.

"Delta! Delta! What's the matter?"

Vargulf started to lean against the wall, pending it with his fists making them bleed. Ryker noticed the lead scientist smile and aimed his pistol at him. The scientist, however, laughed maniacally and pointed at Vargulf.

"Ahh, yes. I remember you. You were one of our first successful test subjects. It's been a while.. Remember me? Your administrator?" the scientist asked.

Vargulf looked up at the scientist and growled menacingly. He then charged at him but suddenly froze as the scientist said the words, "Wake up."

At that moment, Vargulf's body convulsed and he fell to the floor again, this time kneading his head in pain. Aurora tried to calm and help him but was held back by Ryker who already knew what was going on. Then, as quickly as it happened, Vargulf suddenly calmed and stood up robotically. Aurora's eyes widened as she saw how Vargulf's eyes were blank and bloodshot.

Ten Minutes Remaining.

"Surprised? Well let introduce you to the one who assassinated your General, Test Subject 023." the scientist remarked as Vargulf rasped heavily.

Aurora couldn't believe it. Vargulf killed Hrothgar? She looked at Ryker only to see him as calm as ever.

 _Wait.. Wait Ryker examined the dart, he had a surprised look on his face. Could it be...?_

Her suspicions were confirmed as Ryker stepped forward and approached Vargulf slowly. He held up a hand as a gesture of peace and lowered his other gun.

"Delta, this isn't you. Snap out of it, soldier." Ryker told him.

The scientist laughed at Ryker's attempt to bring back Vargulf.

"Ha! As if you can bring him back! Besides, you don't have the antidote with you do you? Of course not because you didn't see this coming!" he exclaimed only to get shot in the face by Ryker who was still advancing towards Vargulf.

Aurora was slightly terrified about the fact Ryker just calmly killed the scientist and ignored him like he was nothing. But she soon remember who Ryker is and that he must have been used to it by now. The rest of the scientists and guards tried to escape but Aurora quickly froze them solid without even moving a muscle. Ryker smirked when she did that.

 _Note to self: If and when Aurora gets mad, run for your life._ he joked to himself.

He then reached out to Vargulf who snarled.

"Delta, come back to us." Ryker stayed again but stopped when Vargulf suddenly stabbed him in the side with a small dagger.

"Alpha!" Aurora exclaimed as she tried to go up to him but was stopped when he held up a hand to warn her to stay away.

Ryker took a step back and gave her a grave look. Vargulf crouched and started to circle around Ryker, his bloodied knife dripping as he did so.

"Looks like I have no other choice but to put him down." Ryker stated.

All of a sudden, their mics gave a lot of feedback and Ryker let out a small growl of irritation.

"*crack* Don't kill him, Alpha! Please don't! He's our friend!" Grace told him.

"*crack* She's right, Alpha. We all know that it wasn't even Vargulf's fault in the first place. Spare him." Balto added as the sounds of a timer beeped in the background.

Aurora stepped up and despite Ryker's warning, got closer.

"Ryker. Please don't do it." she pleaded but as soon as she did, Vargulf threw himself at her lover.

He tackled Ryker who started to retaliate by punching the Mightyena morph in the stomach. Vargulf got off of him and charged a **Shadow Ball** in his mouth. Before he got to fire it, Ryker pulled the trigger and a bullet connected with Vargulf's shoulder.

"*crack* Dammit! What's happening over there?!" Grace asked as the fighting went on.

Vargulf howled and pounced again only to be kicked to the wall by Ryker. Aurora remained still, watching the battle and making sure none of the enemies were escaping.

 _This isn't right. Vargulf shouldn't die._ Aurora thought to herself as she saw Vargulf throw a grenade in Ryker's direction.

Ryker immediately reacted by grabbing it midair and threw it through a hole in the wall. A few seconds later, a small explosion could be heard and the whole building shook.

"*crack* The hell? What was that? That wasn't me." Balto barked (not literally, mind you) through the mic.

Aurora then tried to get in the middle of the fight but Ryker prevented her from doing so by grabbing onto Vargulf and diving through one of the walls. Aurora followed them into the next room and found them exchanging a few blows. Ryker wasn't damaged much but Vargulf didn't look well. Then, all time seemed to stop when she saw Ryker rear one of his fists which faintly glowed with a dark aura.

"Alpha, no!" she exclaimed but was too late.

Ryker punched Vargulf in the stomach and a powerful blast of dark aura enveloped the Mightyena morph. Vargulf lifted his head and screamed loudly, his eyes rolling to the back of his head and his body going limp. Finally, he slumped to the floor but Ryker caught him. Aurora was crying when she saw the unmoving body of her companion. She ran up to Ryker and nearly punched him.

"How could you?! He was our friend, Alpha!" she exclaimed.

Ryker said nothing and handed her Vargulf's weapon. She took it and shook with grief.

"We have to go NOW." Ryker told her but got no response.

They ran to the exit and with Ryker trying not to drop Vargulf. Aurora was silent the entire time and so was Ryker but he still seemed to be calm. They finally reach the exit and met up with the people and pokemon along with Grace and Balto. Ryker laid Vargulf to the ground and Grace immediately ran over.

"No. No. No. Why?! Why did you kill him, Alpha?! You bastard!" she screamed in outrage.

Balto walked up as well and shook his head, sighing sadly and lowering his head in a apologetic gesture. Ryker still said nothing and faces towards the kidnap victims.

"Anyone missing?" he asked bit earned shaking heads and "no's" from the crowd.

Aurora was watching Grace crying into Vargulf's chest, tears dampening his clothes. Ryker then sat down on a nearby rock and sighed contentedly. Grace was about to lash out at him but stopped as she felt something underneath her hands. She quickly lowered her head and listened carefully, nearly jumping in glee when she heard Vargulf's beating heart.

"He's alive! He's alive!" she cheered, drawing Aurora and Balto's attention immediately.

Vargulf suddenly opened his eyes and coughed roughly, a strange yellow fluid escaped his maw. He then yelped as he felt Grace squeeze him with a warm embrace. Balto cheered and playfully punched (much to Vargulf's displeasure) him in the shoulder. Aurora smiled as well, happy that one of her team members didn't actually die. Then, it finally dawned on them and they looked at Ryker for an explanation. He was chewing on a mint leaf calmly and looked at them pointedly.

"I never said I was going to kill him. I only wanted to _safely_ stop his heart and as you just saw, for him to cough up the serum thus freeing him from its effects. But if you think about it, I guess you could say I technically did kill him." he told them, making Balto facepalm and earning apologies from Aurora and Grace.

"Thanks for that, Alpha. I'm glad to have you as leader of our squadron." Vargulf stated, earning a nod from Ryker.

Grace was still crying a bit but with happiness this time. Then, they moved about a mile away from the building. Grace was carrying Vargulf by his shoulder and rejected his pleads of letting him walk by himself. Ryker called for an extraction of multiple helicopters due to the amount of people and pokemon there were.

Two seconds remaining.

An explosion erupted from the building they were just in. Vargulf, being the only one who completely forgot the mission, jumped in surprise as the explosion shook his entire body.

"Whoa. Didn't see th-. " he began buy was cut off by Grace giving him a kiss.

He widened his eyes in surprise and the others (save for Ryker who seemed to be amused) did so as well. A few whistling and cheering came from the crowd next to them and Vargulf felt the blood rush to his ears. He suddenly gained confidence though and kissed her back, giving her a full hug and dropping all of his equipment. Aurora smiled and giggled when she saw the act and Balto gave a few "whoops". This lasted for a while before the sound of helicopter blades filled the air. Vargulf and Grace disconnected and watched happily as the helicopters descended. They were picked up and Aurora quickly fell asleep on Ryker's shoulder.

 **At the base**

"Are you sure you can't stay say longer?" Colonel Roark asked them, a sad smile set upon his face.

It was a month since the last mission and they decided to up and retire. Ryker shook his head along with the rest of his squad. Vargulf and Grace decided to retire as well and wanted to live fuller lives. Ryker walked up to the Colonel and offered his hand to which Roark happily shook.

"It was an honor having all of you serve here in the Kanto Army."

Ryker gave Roark a small smile (much to the Infernape's surprise) and unlocked his car, which gave a small _click._ He led the others to it and opened the passenger door for Aurora who smiled and went inside. Ryker went back around and moved his seat forwards so that Balto, Vargulf, and Grace can sit in the back.

"Why do we have to sit in the back?" Balto asked as he sat in the middle.

Ryker sat down on the driver's side and turned his head around. He gave Balto a pointed look and slightly revealed one of his canines in slight irritation. Vargulf and Grace noticed his fangs before but Balto, with Ryker's permission, told them why. It took them a while for them to get used to the fact that Ryker wasn't a human and they were shocked and somewhat awed to find out that he was the last Fenrir. In addition to that, Ryker finally told them that his name was "Ryker" and that "Alpha" was a nicknamed given to him a while back.

"You like to touch things and I think that if you sit between Grace and Vargulf, you will keep them from kissing and blocking my view of the cars behind us." Ryker replied, earning a sweatdrop from Aurora and blushes from Vargulf and Grace.

Balto immediately busted out laughing but was quickly silenced by Vargulf who elbowed Balto in the stomach. Ryker slowly shook his head and smiled in amusement before turning on the car.

"How did this car even get backseats?" Aurora asked with a confused expression.

"I modified it." was the short reply that came from Ryker.

They peeled away into the road and away from the base at 50 mph {speed limit}. Along the way, Balto explained about his relation with Ryker and talked about their family. He also mentioned the fact that Ryker and Aurora were going out which nearly made Grace squeal in girly excitement. He then told them about some of the earlier events that occurred before Ryker and Balto came back to the army. They made several stops at gas stations (mainly because Grace and Balto kept getting hungry) and eventually they reached Viridian City.

Ryker parked the car on the side of the street in front of a building and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes looked back at the car where his companions still haven't left.

"They're not here anymore. The den has moved southeast of here. Near Celadon City to be exact." he told them.

He got back inside the car and started the engine. He felt a hand rest on his shoulder and turned to see Aurora with a concerned look.

"You should rest, Ryker. You've been driving all day non-stop."

Ryker smiled and shook his head. He kissed her on the crest and return his attention to the road before him.

"I'll be fine. Celadon is only a little ways from here so it shouldn't take very long." he replied.

 **A day later...**

Grace woke up and yawned as she stretched her arms and legs, careful not to disturb anyone else in the car in their sleep. Her eyes then widened as she saw Ryker still driving though his eyes showed small (seriously?) signs of fatigue.

"I guess you can stay up for a long while." she whispered to him.

Ryker nodded and came to a stop soon afterwards. He gave her a reassuring look and yawned, making her slightly cower as she saw his canines.

"I can and I guess you could say I'm used to it. When Aurora and I first went on our adventures together, I used to stay up a little later to make sure she was safe before going to sleep. I still do it actually." he replied.

Grace nodded and waited for Ryker to get out of the car. He did so and he pulled a lever which pushed his seat forward, allowing her to get out. Balto woke up and yawned which roused Vargulf from his rest. The both of them got out of the car as well. Ryker went around the car and opened the door to reveal an unconscious Aurora. He smiled and picked her up gently, enough to the point where she didn't even wake from her slumber. He closed the car door and locked the car before leading the others to a small gravel path off the edge of the city.

 _The den isn't far from here. As for you two, Grave and Vargulf, try not to do any sudden movements when we arrive._ Ryker told them, not wanting to wake Aurora.

They walked a little further and eventually, two wolf scouts blocked their way. However, it was the same two scouts and they did not make the same mistake as they did before.

"The Ninetales and the Mightyena is with us." Ryker whispered to the scouts and they nodded, allowing entrance to the den.

Grace and Vargulf noticed the level of authority that Ryker's voice held and they wondered how high of a status he held. They walked further in and soon they were intercepted by Aniu who was happy beyond belief.

 _You're all okay! Thank Arceus!_ she exclaimed as she nuzzled Balto and Ryker who noticed Demon not far behind Aniu.

 _I'm glad to see the three of you back as well. Safe and sound that is._ he told them with a smile.

He then noticed the two pokemon behind them, a shiny Ninetales and a white and black Mightyena. A strange but unique combination.

 _And newcomers as well?_

 **Two days later..**

 _So he shoots me in the face and didn't even apologize!_ Balto continued, earning laughter from the ex-SF members.

Aniu rolled her eyes, figuring Balto probably deserved it and Demon gave a hearty chuckle. Jenna, however, didn't care and for the whole two days they were back, she never left Balto's side. She missed him immensely and was currently nuzzling his neck. Unfortunately, Rasha, Gray, and their pups were not there since they left not long after Ryker, Balto, and Aurora did.

Speaking of Aurora, when they arrived two days before, she woke up in the cave and was shocked to find that she was in the den. She found Ryker and he explained that he had carried her there since she was asleep. She had quickly scolded him and told him that he should have woken her up. However, she then softened and thanked him whilst giving him a kiss.

Right now, Aurora was multitasking. She was thinking about the idea of Ryker joining the Legendary Council while at the same time, conversing with the others. The whole two days were nothing but catch-up and having fun. Grace and Vargulf quickly made friends with other pack members and they decided (with Aniu's permission) to join the pack, making them become part of the family.

Aurora yawned due to exhaustion and somewhat laziness. She looked at Ryker who was taking off his jacket and folding it. He caught her gaze and smiled, giving a small nod making her smile. He then turned to face Aniu who looked like she wanted to talk to him about something. They left the cave and were gone for some time before coming back with Ryker slightly red in the face and Aniu looking VERY amused.

It was now the afternoon and Aurora was currently walking with Ryker down a slightly worn path. They seemed to be having a good time.

 _So, what did you and Aniu talk about earlier?_ Aurora asked nearly making Ryker trip on an invisible tile or something the like.

Ryker regained his composure and cleared his throat, obviously not prepared to answer this question.

"Nothing much. It was just the usual such as maintaining pack order and the like." he replied nervously.

Aurora noticed his anxiety and smiled while standing on her hind legs and getting up close to Ryker's face.

 _Are you SURE that was all you talked about?_ she asked with a giggle.

Ryker gulped and sighed defeated, shaking his head.

"She asked me when our children were going to be born and I told her that we haven't mated." he replied, making Aurora blush madly and getting off of him.

However, she smiled a little because if one were to really think about it, they were actually planning to mate. It was just a matter of when...

"I received a message from Ragna a while back." Ryker suddenly mentioned, making her give him a look of questioning.

 _Did he need something from you?_ Aurora asked as they continued to walk.

Ryker nodded and looked at the sky, seeming to relax at the sight as he took in its calm atmosphere.

"Apparently, he and Saphira were assigned to a mission and we are to accompany them. We're supposed to go see them in the Hall of Origins as soon as we can." he replied.

Aurora nodded, understanding and wondered what kind of assignment they were given. Then, her mood brightened as a thought came to mind.

 _Say, why don't you become part of the Legendary Council while you're there?_

Ryker narrowed his eyes at her as she smiled mischievously. He then sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. He smiled and nodded.

"Might as well. Only because I can't stand hearing you plead like that."

Aurora smiled and continued to walk with him, wondering how things would go from there.

 **Ryker "The Alpha" Fang, 25, Fenrir, male.**

 **Aurora North, 25, Islingr Suicune, female.**

 **Balto White, 23, Wolf of Light, male.**

 **Vargulf Shadow, 26, Mightyena, male**

 **Grace Legend, 26, Ninetales, female**

 **Aniu White,?, Wolf Goddess of Guidance, female.**

 **Demon,?, Wolf God of Death, male**

 **Rasha White, 24, Wolf of Light, female.**

 **Gray, 25, Wolf of Light, male.**

 **Aero, 10 months, Wolf of Light, male.**

 **Violet, 10 months, Wolf of Light, female.**

 **Scarlet, 10 months, Wolf of Light, female.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Another special chapter here! 64 pages! Thank you for those who have been following this story so far, it's really nice to know someone gives a damn haha. this chapter has GalladeFenrir44's characters in it, I didn't alter them but they do have a role in this chapter. I recommend you all to see A Deal With A God or The Blade and the Embrace. Shout out to holothwolf16!**

 **In the last chapter in Light In My Darkness, Ryker, Aurora, and Balto go off to the Kanto Army base where it turns out, Ryker and Balto were part of Special Forces Squadron 5: Oblivion. Grace, a shiny Ninetales, and Vargulf, a black Mightyena, were also part of Squadron 5. Aurora joins the team and together, they go through a couple of missions to put a stop to the spread of a vile serum known as hyptonic . However, that was after Ryker and Aurora nearly mated the night before. They succeeded in the first mission and ended up taking down its top developer, Lich, a Sceptile. They then raided an enemy base and rescued all of the kidnapped victims and put an end to the hyptonic. Vargulf and Grace get together in a romantic relationship and together, with Ryker, Aurora, and Balto, returned to the pack. Grace and Vargulf joins the pack and Aurora convinced Ryker to join the Legendary Council.**

 **Chapter 14: The Legendary Council Learns Not to Mess With The Alpha**

 **"It never troubles the wolf how many the sheep may be."**

Ryker and Aurora were now in the main chamber in The Hall of Origins. They have left a day after their walk and Ryker thought that it was either "now or never".

"Hey! It's been a while, my friend." Ragna exclaimed as he extended his hand.

Ryker smiled and shook Ragna's hand with a firm grip. Aurora noticed that Ragna slightly winced due to Ryker's grip.

"Likewise Ragna. And you, Lady Reshiram?" Ryker asked as Saphira came into view.

The Vast White pokemon smiled and bowed her head a little. She also smiled at Aurora who returned the gesture.

 _I'm great, thank you. I hope you two don't mind joining us on our mission._ Saphira remarked as she hugged Aurora.

 _Of course not. Where's Lady Arceus? Isn't she going to inform us about the mission?_ Aurora replied with a question.

Ragna shook his head whilst gesturing towards the chamber behind him, Jeanne's chambers to be exact. He then crossed his arms and sighed with exaggeration.

"Afterwards. Apparently, there's going to be a new Legendary in the Council or something like that. Really though, I bet it's another pompous old coot or something like that."

At this, Ryker's eye twitched and he looked at Aurora who smiled guiltily.

 _I may have informed her that you were going to join._ Aurora told Ryker privately.

Ryker shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. He then looked at Ragna and Saphira and gestured towards the chambers before them.

"Let's go. I'm sure the meeting will start soon."

 _Right you are, Fang._ a voice boomed in their heads.

They turned to see Darko alongside Jeanne who was smiling widely. They all bowed to the two Arceus who nodded their heads in response. Ryker then addressed the two gods of pokemon.

"When exactly will the meeting start?" he asked with curiosity.

 _In about half an hour to be exact. Come with me, Fang._ Darko replied, leading Ryker down a chamber leaving the others with Jeanne.

Jeanne looked at the three and led them to the meeting room where Legendaries were already gathering. There were all from different regions, Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde being the newest of the Council. Aurora spotted her brothers in their spots in front of podiums and waved at them with one of her tails to which they smiled and waved back with their paws.

 _As you know, you each get in your designated spot._ Jeanne began. She then looked at them with hidden eagerness. The only one who seemed to notice was Aurora who was equally, if not, more excited. _When the meeting is ready, either me or my mate will announce the name of the newcomer. He or she will then reveal him or herself in his or her human form before transforming into their true form. When that happens, the newcomer will battle a randomly chosen Legendary, myself and my mate included, and if the newcomer passes, then he or she will join the Council. If not, then the newcomer will have the opportunity to try again in exactly two years._ Jeanne finished.

Ragna cooked an eyebrow and gave her a questioning look.

"Can you tell us who will try to join?" he asked, gaining Saphira's attention as well.

Jeanne smiled and shook her head while facing the center of the meeting chamber where the newcomer would have to reveal himself.

 _I can tell you but I won't. But, I assure you it will be a surprise indeed. Now, the three of you take your spots and wait for the ceremony to begin._ Jeanne stated with finality and left them to do as she commanded.

 **With Ryker**

 _So basically, wait for your announcement, and get out there as flashy as you can. Then, when she gives the signal, transform and give the most impressive cry you can muster. The rest, do what you think will win them over._ Darko explained as they stopped in front of the entrance leading to the stage.

Ryker frowned and crossed his arms, obviously not liking the situation.

"Does it have to be flashy? Why can't it be a calm atmosphere?" he asked, making Darko chuckle in amusement.

 _Trust me. You're going to want to try and impress them as much as you can. Plus, don't you want to impress Lady Islingr Suicune while you're at it?_

Ryker gave him a glare and left towards the stage without saying anything. Darko laughed to himself before teleporting to Jeanne's side who was at a large podium in front of all the other legendaries.

Aurora got in her spot and looked around, letting out a low growl when she noticed the weather trio. They were allowed to participate in the meeting but when it's over, they were to go back to imprisonment. One of them, Tornadus, laughed obnoxiously at some joke Landerous had told him. Aurora nearly snapped when she heard him talk.

 _I bet the newbie is going to be weaker than a Magikarp!_ Landerous commented.

As soon as that comment was made, Jeanne made her announcement to the Council since everyone was present.

 _Welcome and thank all of of you for attending this Recruitment Meeting. As you all know, if all goes well, a new Legendary will become part of the Council. May I remind you, try to keep your comments to yourself until either I or my mate ask for them. Now, let's begin._ Jeanne finished as she and Darko faced the stage.

Aurora's animosity quickly disappeared when she remembered that Ryker was going to come out soon. She looked and Darko cleared his throat to make his announcement. The other legendaries, save for a few, we're really eager as well and all quieted.

 _May I introduce you all to one who has been working with us for about a decade now. One who you should treat with utmost respect. He is a crucial ally and his loyalty far exceeds most of everyone here. Let us all welcome our newcomer!_

The light in the room dimmed significantly and the legendaries gasped as a veil of shadows and flickering flames appeared in the center of the stage. Some legendaries shivered as they felt the tremendous power emanating from the dark aura. Others shook it off and dismissed it as a farce.

Saphira gave Ragna a thoughtful look and got closer to him, lowering her head to his ear level.

 _This aura... It feels familiar._ she told him, asking him pale and turn almost as white as her hide.

"You don't think-" he started but was cut off by the multitude of gasps as Ryker revealed himself.

The shadowy aura cleared and revealed Ryker donned in his armor. His transparent cape emitted more shadows as it blew. Ryker bowed and got on one knee in front of them respectively. This earned a long silence from the audience. Aurora smiled, knowing full well that this would be the result. Ragna and Saphira nearly rocketed from their spots as they tried to figure out why Ryker was becoming a legendary. The silence was broken though by laughter from the weather trio.

 _Ha! Him?! We stomped him in a fight a while back!_ Thunderous roared with his brothers joining in with his bout.

They continued to laugh and Ryker remained still, unfazed by their incredibly rude comments and jeers. Aurora growled and the area around her quickly became frigid. Her brothers noticed this and backed away, knowing just how much damage their sister could do.

 _Enough! Silence, all of you!_ Jeanne roared, shutting up the trio immediately.

She raised her forelegs and stomped, gaining their full attention easily with almost no effort.

 _Alpha Lord of Oblivion and Hellfire, reveal your true self to them._ she added, drawing their attention from her to Ryker.

Ragna, Saphira, Princess, and Mewtron were all very confused. His true form? Was he not just a human with tremendous power? Their answers were given quickly though as Ryker began to show them his FULL transformation.

Aurora never saw his full transformation before. A full transformation is a process that shows all of the shifting of bones and muscles as well as the growing of limbs. Every pokemon or being that transforms usually use a little bit of their power to conceal and quicken the process to save time as well as preventing the others to see. She then heard a low growl from Ryker even though his position was far below her.

Ryker's muscles started to bulge, crack, and shift as his clothes and armor suddenly disappeared, leaving him only in his boxers. Aurora's eyes widened as Ryker raised one of his hands. Claws emerged from his knuckles and they tore through the skin of his hand, dripping blood onto the floor. He growled again and punched the floor, snarling as all the flesh on his arm and hand tore and revealed black fur underneath. Some of the legendaries recoiled from this horrid sight and Aurora reacted the same way.

 _No wonder he doesn't transform around us._ she thought as his transformation continued.

He repeated the last act with his other arm and now, two fur covered fore legs and claws were revealed. The skin on Ryker's back stretched and tore as his muscles ripped through it with a black fur hide replacing it. His hind legs developed much in the same way as his arms and they all gasped again as two limbs formed on his back. They all flinched when they heard Ryker roar, his face splitting around his nose and they winced as bone cracked and popped from his face to the floor. A muzzle began to emerge from where his nose and mouth used to be and by this time, his wings were halfway developed. Ryker growled again and his entire face cracked then combusted apart. The flesh from his human body was in a small pile around him and the entire time, they burned since his aura was emanating. When the view of his face cleared, it revealed a black wolf head with three horns with two horns jutting out from under his jaw and pointing towards the end of his muzzle. His wings were now fully developed and the tribal markings appeared, flaring as black flame traced them. With his transformation complete, Ryker bared his teeth and let out a large growl, his aura exploding sending shadows and vicious black flames all around.

The legendaries, including Jeanne and Darko, were shocked by this gruesome transformation. There was so much flesh tearing and blood but they all were devoured by Ryker's flames, the blood turning into steam. Ragna and Saphira had their mouths agape, unbelieving and speechless. Princess and Mewtron couldn't even blink after what they had just saw. Aurora knew what Ryker looked like and she knew about this for a while but she was beyond shocked at how painful his transformation looked.

Ryker lowered his head in a respectful gesture whilst folding in his wings. He let his aura die down a bit but the feeling of dread and horror still hung in the air. Jeanne recovered her composure and made another announcement.

 _The one you see before you will be the one trying to earn a place in our Council. He goes by the alias of "Alpha" in human form. Now, Alpha, introduce yourself._

Ryker nodded and scanned the audience.

 _Greetings to all of you. I am honored to be before your presences here today and I would like to thank Lord and Lady Arceus for introducing me. As you now know, I go by the name of Alpha and you all also know my real name is only given to those that I trust. I would also like to apologize for my... gruesome transformation. Moving on, I am a Fenrir, the last of my kind in fact. I control darkness and flames at will as well as having the ability, as you just saw, disguise myself as a human. I hail from Zenith, a land far from here that does not inhabit pokemon. I, myself, am not a pokemon but a being of my own. In conclusion, I hope that if and when I pass the trial, we will end up getting along as allies and subordinates of Lord and Lady Arceus._ Ryker announced, looking up to see their shocked faces.

For a moment, everyone seemed to whisper to each. Both positive and negative comments were made (the majority positive surprisingly) and all the while, Ryker sat there staring at seemingly nothing past the audience.

Ragna looked at Saphira and grabbed one of her wings.

"That's Ryker? What the hell?" he whispered to her.

 _I'm just as surprised as you are. Though he looks really intimidating in this form, I can still sense that it is indeed him._ the white dragon replied.

Aurora's brothers were currently bombarding her in a series of questions.

 _You were hanging out with HIM the whole time?!_ Entei exclaimed.

 _And you love him as well?_ Raiko asked, a lot more calmly.

Aurora smiled and nodded, facing back towards Ryker and giving him a smile to which he responded with a nod. Suddenly, Darko stomped one of his hooves in the podium.

 _We will now randomly select a Legendary to participate in a spar with our newcomer._

Darko created a colorful orb that flashed blue and red. It floated through the crowd of Legendaries, changing colors as it stopped in front of each one. They all wished feverishly that it wouldn't turn red and choose them since Ryker looked REALLY powerful. The orb traveled a bit more until it stopped, surprising Aurora and amusing Jeanne greatly.

The Weather Trio paled as the orb got in the middle of them and pulsated bright red. This caused the other Legendaries nearby to move away, for fear that they might be thrown in as well. Laughter could be heard from the other side of the room, from Darko to he exact.

 _A three on one it seems. This hasn't happened for a while. If I remember correctly, the last time this happened was with Lady Islingr Suicune against Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos. Anyways, the rules are as follows: No humiliation, no killing or maiming, and no_ _ **Battle Forms.**_ _The match will begin when the four of you are ready._

At this, Ryker nodded and stretched as pops could be heard from his neck and wings area. The Weather Trio became nervous rather quickly, hoping that their opponent was just all bark no bite. Ryker sat down calmly, obviously ready and unintentionally mocking the Weather Trio. Darko looked at the three and arched an eyeridge questioningly.

 _Are you three ready?_ he asked, knowing full well that it wasn't going to even matter in a few moments.

Tornadus sneered and puffed up his chest, nodding at Darko in response to the earlier question. Darko nodded and summoned torches that lit up around the chamber. He then set up a large barrier preventing all attacks that would end up reaching the audience. Darko then smiled and raised his voice.

 _Let the mock battle begin!_

The Weather Trio immediately charged at first chance at Ryker. However, by the time they reached him, he vanished and reappeared behind them, firing a barrage of black fireballs from his maw. Taken completely off guard, the three storm pokemon were defenseless against the Fenrir's attack. They all fell to the ground by the force of the attack and Ryker got in a semi-offensive position. Tornadus, enraged, yelled in fury as he fired a **Hydro Pump** at Ryker. Ryker quickly dodged it but Tornadus still kept up the attack, directing the spray of water towards Ryker. The Alpha did the unexpected and redirected the attack with his wing, launching it towards Landerous who was still disoriented. Landerous looked up only to have his face entirely soaked by the **Hydro Pump** and was pushed back even further it. Thunderous growled at this and sent a **Shockwave** , covering the whole area in electricity. Ryker surprised them all by taking the attack and ran towards Thunderous, the **Shockwave** apparently not enough to faze him. Thunderous quickly panicked and took to the air, the fact that Ryker had wings left his mind entirely. Ryker, however, didn't follow and instead sent a wave of suppressed shadows towards Tornadus. They easily tore across Tornadus's flesh and made several bruises on his arms. Tornadus roared in pain, hoping that his brothers would think of something. Landerous, who had just recovered from the last attack, used **Earthquake,** shaking the entire area with a magnitude of eight. Ryker simply took to the skies and fired a beam of a combination of shadows and flames into the ground. The three thought that he had missed and they all laughed at this. Ryker, however, simply checked his fur for any dirt, obviously not worried. Suddenly, five beams erupted from the ground and they struck the Weather Trio, quickly knocking them down and bruising them heavily.

Darko, thinking the battle was already over before it began, started to announce the results but stopped as Tornadus, Thunderus, and Landerus all transformed into their **Therian Forms** , surprising and angering the rest of the Legendaries in the room.

Jeanne quickly made an announcement before anyone can make a remark or protest against the act.

 _Since they all transformed into their alternate forms, Alpha has the option to transform as well. Not only that, but they had broken one of the sacred rules that have been upheld for centuries. All rules are lifted and anything can happen now._

No one gave a response to this but instead watched curiously at the Battle. Thunderus roared and prepared a **Thunder Fang**. He charged at Ryker and bared his teeth, successfully sinking his teeth into Ryker's hide. Ryker, in response, swatted Thunderus away with his wing and fired a move similar to **Dark Pulse** , but instead of just darkness, flames were present. Thunderus immediately dodged the attack and regrouped with his brothers as the attack dissipated.

Aurora looked at Ryker with worry, taking notice of the blood leaking from his wound. She then noticed that Landerus was charging at him. She flinched as Ryker, instead of dodging, charged at Landerus and they collided, surprising everyone that their heads didn't break. Ryker, however, had horns and when they disconnected, blood was present on Landerus's head and he held it in pain. Tornadus fired a **Gust** at Ryker who literally clawed himself to the ground to keep himself being blown away by the powerful attack. Without a moment's hesitation, Tornadus took the little opening he had created and pecked at Ryker's neck, drawing more blood from his opponent. Tornadus withdrew and let out a small laugh, his brothers annoyingly joining in.

 _Is that all you got, mutt? Or was all that strength from before was just a one time thing when we tried to mate HER?_

At this, Aurora tensed and the other Legendaries, including Ragna, looked at her. Yes, the incident was reported to Jeanne and Darko and the news spread like wildfire when it happened. Since then, the two Arceus kept a closer look at the Weather Trio, rarely letting them leave from the Hall of Origins to prevent them from causing trouble. Aurora looked at Ryker whose nerve had been struck.

Tornadus continued.

 _You know, maybe we'll go see her after we beat you to the ground. We'll take your place and "protect" her ourselves._ Tornadus mocked, laughing maniacally despite the audience and the two Arceus.

Jeanne's patience suddenly ran out and she stopped one of her hooves on the podium.

 _Eno-_ she began but Darko stopped her, gesturing to Ryker who was letting out a menacing growl, one that sent chills and fear to everyone, even Aurora, in the area.

Aurora noticed that he was slightly growing in size and that he now had a total of eight horns (his usual three horns, chin spike, and the two horns that stuck out underneath his jaw. Now, he had one sticking out of each side of his muzzle pointing back). His wings had blade like edges and a trail of black fire formed from his head leading all the way down to his back and stopping at the end of his tail. The flame tip of his tail was now furiously burning as well as the rest of the flames lining the markings on his body. Then, he further shocked all of them by suddenly donning black armor (think of Draedric armor but for quadpedals) and only his head remained uncovered. However, he did have armor plating covering the top of his head, his jawline, and the top of his snout. By the time he finished transforming, he was standing at a staggering 10 feet tall, easily towering most Legendaries in their **Altered Form** and a few smaller Legendaries in their **Battle Forms** (like Mew/Princess for example).

Aurora noticed that he kept his eyes closed the entire transformation but gasped when he opened them. The were intimidating before but now on an entirely different level. Both of his eyes were entirely black save for his white irises. This new form was... beyond terrifying.

Ryker snorted and a small jet of black flame escaped his nose. He took a step forward, fire flowing from his paws and shadows pouring from his body similar to his cape when he was still in human form. All light in the area dimmed even further and one of the Legendaries, Uxie to be specific, pointed outside.

 _A lunar eclipse! That wasn't supposed to happen until later in the month!_ he exclaimed.

They all heard a low growl and returned their attention to the battle. Ryker looked at the moon-covered sun and let loose a terrifying howl, one that resonated in everyone's heads and shook them to their very cores. Even the two Arceus didn't comprehend what was happening.

This is Ryker's **Lord Alpha** state.

The Weather Trio all screamed in fear and tried to escape. However, they were suddenly pulled back by shadows and were all tied together in the center of the battle stage. Ryker then growled as what seemed like wolves, about half of them made of flames and the other half made of shadows, appeared by his sides. Ryker let out a small, barely audible snarl and the wolves attacked, rushing through the Weather Trio and dealing damage to them at the same time.

 _I will make sure you will not die so you can feel endless pain. Don't think you three will get off easily._ Ryker snarled in his language of growls and snarls.

The wolves continued their barrage of attacks until they suddenly dissipated. Ryker then flew to the sky above his opponents and focused, a dark aura devouring the entire area. Ryker then let out a menacing roar, shooting a dark beam at the lunar eclipse. The beam actually reached the moon and streaked a crossed it in various directions before coming back to Ryker. It struck his snout horn and the energy jumped from it to all around his other horns.

 _ **Oblivion's Light.**_ Ryker snarled.

Ryker then let out yet another growl and focused the energy into a single beam before firing it at the ground like a laser. The beam seamed to tear through the ground like nothing and heat emanated from it making everyone in the room, save for Ryker of course, sweat furiously. Aurora had to literally summon pillars of dry ice around the chamber to cool everyone off.

Ryker then turned his head, leading the beam closer and closer to the Weather Trio. His three opponents began to literally cry in fear and beg for their lives.

 _Please! Someone help us from this monster! Help us!_ they cried.

Darko shook his head and most of the other Legendaries did the same.

 _No, we cannot. You three have broken the sacred rules and this is the result of your actions. May God have mercy upon your souls and if not, then you better hope Lady Giratina will and keep you as slaves in the Distortion World instead of sending you all to Hell._

At this, the three ex-Legendaries cried even harder and they continued to beg for their lives as the beam of complete oblivion inched closer and closer. Aurora watched from the sidelines, knowing that nothing she could do would stop the outcome from occurring. Ragna shook his head, not believing that Ryker was this horrific beast before them. Saphira hugged Ragna, actually scared and needing Ragna's warmth despite her being part Fire type and the tremendous amount of heat emanating from Ryker.

The beam was now a foot away from the Weather Trio and they began to scream louder than before, soiling the ground beneath them with their digestive waste as fear had completely devoured their minds. They looked into Ryker's eyes and shuddered at the sight... pitch black with no other color save for white irises. Finally giving up, Tornadus began to pray, his brothers join in as well. All the while, they were sobbing in their prayer and were choking on their words. When they noticed the beam was nearly an inch away, they closed their eyes, preparing to be completely annihilated.

The beam suddenly stopped, surprising everyone in the room. Ryker lowered himself to the ground and reverted back to his normal form. He bowed to the two Arceus and the moon returned to its original position. The light in the room also returned allowing everyone have a clear view of Ryker.

 _I believe the battle is over._ Ryker stated, no longer speaking in his native language.

At this, the binds around the Weather Trio disappeared and they shakily got up. Landerus, suddenly screamed in pain as a sudden realization hit him. You see, when they were tied up, he was the closest to Ryker's death beam. If one were to look at his left forearm, one would see a large chunk of flesh and muscle tissue missing revealing slightly charred bone underneath. Landerus fell to the floor, rolling around in agony. Ryker then raised his head and looked at the audience, waiting for their judgement. Aurora noticed that his eyes had returned to their normal state.

Ignoring Landerus's cries of agony, Jeanne raised one of her hooves high and cleared her throat, demanding attention from everyone in the room.

 _All in favor of accepting and welcoming him into the Legendary Council?_

 _Aye!_ was the unanimous vote given by the rest of the Legendaries.

Darko smiled at this and summoned a flaming sword and lowered it above Ryker's head. Ryker bowed again and Aurora along with their friends smiled as well, happy that Ryker was going to be accepted in a society, besides Aniu's pack, where he wouldn't be shunned nor scorned at.

 _I declare you an official member of the Legendary Council! Rise, Lord Fenrir!_ Darko announced, earning a cheer from the audience.

Ryker rose and nodded his appreciation to the positive attention he was receiving. However, positive or not, he didn't like being the center of attention and was slowly getting uncomfortable. Jeanne noticed this and quickly diverted attention from him.

 _Now! As custom and tradition, I am happy to announce that there will be a feast today in celebration of this glorious event! I would also like to announce that all Legendaries are off-duty for the remainder of the weekend!_

This earned tremendous cheers from every Legendary present, enough to actually make Mewtron smile for once in a while. Ryker bowed once more and turned around to face the ex-Legendaries. They backed away in fright, fearing him and his very presence. Darko appeared behind them and summoned a dark purple orb that pulsated every few seconds.

 _As punishment for breaking the sacred rules and for disobeying my orders, as well as threatening to attempt ravaging another, I hereby sentence you three, Tornadus, Landerus, and Thunderus, to the Empty Void. You will be imprisoned there for as long as I as well as Lord Alpha and Lady Aurora sees fit. Consider yourselves lucky that Lord Fenrir didn't kill you and give you a one-way ticket to the afterlife._ he stated as he hurled the orb towards the Weather Trio.

They tried to escape but the orb caught up to them easily and collapsed in on them, sending them to the Empty Void and ridding them from The Hall of Origins. Darko turned to face Ryker and smiled as he saw Aurora appear by his side. Jeanne lowered herself from her pedestal to Darko's side and smiled as well, happy that things didn't go south... too much.

 _I hope that punishment for them is satisfactory for you two._ Darko told them with a hint of curiosity.

Ryker frowned and twitched his ears in annoyance to the ongoing loud conversations of the Legendaries above. He then looked at the spot where the Weather Trio had disappeared.

 _You needn't ask me that question. However, it is Lady Islingr Suicune you should ask for your answer._ Ryker replied, as formal and emotionless as ever.

Aurora noticed with amusement that though he is still formal around her and their friends, but when it comes to the two Arceus and others, he'd talk with staggering well eloquence. Darko noticed this as well and sighed, smiling as he gave Aurora a look.

 _Do you think imprisonment is enough punishment for those three? Or should I resort to_ _ **Judgement**_ _instead?_ he asked her.

Aurora smiled and shook her head, stretching her wings a bit before tucking them in again.

 _No, this is enough and I'm quite satisfied. As for how long they should stay there... maybe thirty years will suffice?_

Darko and Jeanne nodded with wide smiles.

 _I think that's reasonable. Don't you think so as well, dear?_ Darko asked Jeanne who nodded in agreement.

Ryker then noticed the damage he had caused in the stage and used his psychic abilities to piece the wreckage together, his eyes glowed black as he impressed the audience and the two Arceus in front of him. When he finished, he took a look at his armor before looking at Aurora.

 _I think the armor enchantment works._ he told her to which she giggled and gave him a small hug in response.

 _Now, let's get to the feast and party, shall we?_ Jeanne asked them, receiving nods and smiles for the group save for Ryker, who simply nodded but not smiling was normal for him.

 **An Hour Later..**

"I'm still not used to seeing you like this." Ragna commented as he took a bite out of his Mareep leg.

They were seated at a table in a large chamber where every Legendary is hanging out, either eating or walking around and mingling with one another. The table they were seated at was like a normal standard table but larger to suit the size of a legendary. Ryker, who was drinking a special type of drink out of a barrel, simply nodded to Ragna's comment. He then replied to Ragna.

 _I can tell. Every time I twitch my claw, you and Lady Reshiram flinch. And every time I chew my food, you two stare at my teeth._

Ragna and Saphira looked at each other questioningly.

 _We did that?_ Saphira asked earning a nod from both Ryker and Aurora.

Aurora rolled her eyes at their shocked expressions and looked at Ryker who was taking another drink from the barrel. Ryker was drinking a non-alcoholic drink that was actually similar to wine. It was composed of berries of different kinds and they all actually enjoyed it. The drink was called Faelnirv, an elven drink that Jeanne had obtained through connections. It tasted like a fruity cocktail with a tinge of apple cider.

 _So what was that back there?_ she asked Ryker, gaining Saphira's and Ragna's attention as well.

Ryker stopped drinking, knowing what Aurora was referring to. He then looked at the table and stared at it.

 _That was something I haven't done for a long while. It's my most powerful form but I held back knowing that I could very well destroy this entire planet if I didn't._

This earned shocked expressions from the three. They were going to question about it but Ryker continued with his explanation so he could answer any of their future questions. In fact, he knew what their questions were going to be.

 _It was my_ _ **Lord Alpha**_ _state, a form of which I don't even have control over...sometimes. I was lucky though that I was able to stop myself from killing those three though I was very tempted. The last time I was in that form, besides earlier, I was in Hoenn and my parents were still alive then. I got very angry at some people who tried to attack my mother and lost it. In the end, my parents stopped me from going any further. However, it wasn't as if I didn't cause any damage. The damaged I caused ended up resulting with that area being dubbed as "Sootopolis City" as well as causing the rest of the land around it to sink. The reason why I call it_ _ **The Lord Alpha**_ _state is because that my father brought up that he was in an alliance with the Legendary Council. He then told me that I should not take this form unless I need to. he told me that it should be called the_ _ **Lord Alpha**_ _state because he already told Lord and Lady Arceus, without my consent I might add, that I was to join the Council sometime in the future. As for the "Alpha" part, he told me that it was because of my abilities to actually harm other Fenrir with fire and shadows. Since then, I never went_ _ **Lord Alpha**_ _and I actually didn't intend in doing so earlier. I guess I lost focus and did it unintentionally. No one, besides all of the Council now, knows about it and I want to keep it that way. So please, humor me and do not tell anyone else about this for last time someone saw it back then, all of the crime syndicates came looking for me in my time in Hoenn._ he finished explaining.

This earned a silence from the group but Ragna was the first to speak up.

"Wait. _YOU_ created Sootopolis?... I am completely mind blown." he remarked.

Aurora then smiled and hugged Ryker with a wing. She gave him a small kiss which surprised her lover nearly making him choke on his meal.

 _Well, that just means that Ryker has enough power to protect me, right?_ she asked suggestively to Ryker who nodded and looked away fearing that she might end up making him sing in front of the Legendaries as well.

This earned laughter from the rest of the group and a little from Ryker as well. All of a sudden, his head lunged forward as Princess made it as her seat for the time being.

 _Hey, Alphy! Congrats in the orientation thingy! Wow, you have such dark fur!_ she commented, giggling as she cuddled against his fur which was surprisingly soft enough for her to do so.

Ryker sighed and looked at the rest of the group who barely contained their laughter at the cute sight. They then turned to see Mewtron appearing next to him.

 _Greetings, Lord Fenrir._ the Mewtwo announced, smiling as he saw his mate giggling as she tried (but failing) to braid Ryker's fur.

Ryker turned as nodded with a smile. He extended a paw to which Mewtron shook with friendliness.

 _Hello to you as well, Lord Mewtwo. Enjoying the feast?_ Ryker replied, making his small group sweatdrop at the formal conversation.

 _I am in fact. I'm just here to say congratulations and to make sure my lover isn't bothering you too much._ Mewtron replied with a chuckle.

Ryker shook his head and turned his head to see Princess carefully feeling the spike tip on one of his wings. He then turned back to face Mewtron and gestured to the other side of the table, summoning two seats made of shadows to appear.

 _You need not to worry, she's fine. Why don't you two join our table?_ Ryker offered, making Mewtron smile as he took his seat.

Princess then noticed the other seat and sat down on it, immediately stuffing herself with the apple pie of which surprisingly, no one touched. This earned smiles from the group. Princess can act like a child, even an infant sometimes. But they knew that if needed, she can be serious and as mature as a mother would to her children.

They conversed with each other for a while, having a great time as well as enjoying each other's company. It was calm until Ragna brought up the subject of Legendary pairings.

"So recap: Lady Giratina is with Lord Rayquaza, Lady Virizion is with Lord Cobalion, Lord Darkai is currently having issues with Lady C., Lady Celebi and Lord Uxie, Lord Zekrom and Lady Palkia, the Three Legendary Birds are in a three-way I think, and as for the rest I do not know." he listed.

 _And how do you know this?_ Mewtron asked with a hint of amusement.

Ragna smiled and crossed his arms, shaking his head teasingly whilst wagging his forefinger.

"I have connections." he replied with a chuckle.

 _Or, you just eavesdrop as well as spy on certain individuals._ Ryker remarked nonchalantly as he finished his meal, making Ragna rub the back of his head whilst smiling guiltily and earning laughter from the rest of the group.

Ryker then turned his head to see Jeanne smiling at them. He smiled as well and bowed, giving the others the cue to bow as well.

 _I assume this is about the assignment?_ Ryker asked as he got back to his previous position.

Jeanne nodded and summoned another chair, sitting down on it and folding her forelegs inward.

 _Yes but I don't want you four to worry about it too much, especially now. The gist of it is that in a few days, you four will go to Sinnoh and meet up with an ally of mine. He may need help keeping things in check and I believe the four of you are up to the task._

Ryker nodded and looked at his companions, nodding to Aurora, Ragna, an Sapphire. He then turned back to Jeanne and nodded.

 _Alright then. But may I ask who we will he meeting up with?_

 _You will be meeting up with a very powerful Gallade who goes by the name of Rick. He is the Warlord of Sanctuary, a large city hidden by a large barrier that only allows other non-ill intented pokemon inside as well as Gardevoirs and other Gallades. He also owns part of Silph Co. and the public knows him in his human disguise. Rick also fights against Team Rocket which have been thought to be disbanded but apparently we were wrong._

 _And we'll be meeting him there in Sanctuary? Or do we have to be escorted in?_

 _The latter._ Jeanne replied whilst taking a sip from the Faelnirv.

Ryker nodded and looked around, taking in the sight of Legendaries having fun and conversing as well as the sky outside. He then thought it over and decided to take up on the mission. Jeanne knew this and smiled, lifting up a chalice making the others do the same. Ryker was still focused on the sky and didn't notice their actions.

 _A toast to Lord Fenrir and his ever helpful deeds!_ she announced to the small group, making Ryker finally notice and smile a little.

 _Cheers!_ the rest of the group announced before downing their drinks.

Ryker then got up and started to walk away from the group, raising questions from them.

"Where you goin'?" Ragna asked, wondering if Ryker was going to leave the party already.

Ryker continued to pad away as if he didn't hear what he had said. Ragna cooked an eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders, smiling while taking another bite from his meal.

"Probably didn't hear me. Chatter is too loud or something like that." he stated, oblivious to Aurora's expression which was one of concern.

 _Ryker has REALLY good hearing even under these circumstances._ she thought to herself.

She looked at Ryker who had just turned the corner leading to the next chamber. His absence didn't rouse questions from the surrounding Legendaries but Princess did seemed worried as well. She looked at Aurora with a questioning look, to which Aurora replied with a clueless expression.

 **With Ryker**

 _ **Why were you holding back? You should have just killed the three weaklings and then some!**_ a voice hissed at Ryker who shook his head violently to try and rid himself of these thoughts.

 _ **Don't you want to feel the joy of striking down your prey?**_

 _ **Why don't we go kill of the rest of the Legendaries? Attack now when they least expect it!**_

 _ **You don't need friends or family. You're the Alpha! Get rid of them all!**_

 _ **They're all going to betray you in the end anyway. Look at them. Did you see their faces when you transformed? Fear! Hatred! Suspicion! That's all they think when they see you. Why should you hide in that human form when you could just wipe everyone else out and live on freely?!**_

 _No! That's not true! I can't do that to them!_ Ryker thought to well ... his thoughts.

Since the **Lord Alpha** incident, Ryker felt that he had let too much of his power exert and wasn't feeling well to this point. Now, his most darkest of doubts and thoughts were all manifesting around him, driving him nearly to insanity.

 _ **You know it is! There is no one that cares for you! No one at all! End it all, Alpha! End it all while you can!**_

Ryker clenched his eyes and did something he would absolutely never do in a problematic situation.

He ran away.

Ryker flew, well, more like jumped out of the Hall of Origins. He then started to plummet faster and faster to the earth. All the while, he was afraid that he was going to lose control of himself. To make it worse, those thoughts were his own which meant that if he would to lose to his doubts, it would be by will...

For a split second, Balto, Jenna, Demon, Aniu, and the rest of his family and friends streamed through his mind. His dark thoughts were starting to calm down and he began to think clearly again slightly. Then, Aurora came to mind. Her smile. Her laughter. Her eyes and her angelic voice. Even her personality and the way her coat shines beautifully as the sun glitters off the dry ice shards in her wings and on some areas on her body including her face... All those things made Ryker feel incredibly warm inside, and not the inner flame kind of warmth. But the feeling of love and the thoughts of her and the rest of his beloved individuals helped him start to think straight and region control of his senses. His mind then showed him the earlier scene of Jeanne and the others raising their chalices in celebration of him... It was an incredibly good feeling.

 _ **Eeeeeennd it...**_ a dark tendril of thought snuck into his mind.

 _... No. I love them. I love them all...and I love.. Aurora..._

Ryker snapped his eyes back open and unfurled his wings, barely catching the wind in time before making contact with the ground just several feet below him. He widened his eyes as he realized that he was headed straight for a tree and braced himself, knowing that he wouldn't be able to react in time. He crashed violently into the tree, the sound of splintering and earth shaking filled the air. The dust cleared and revealed Ryker with a awkwardly disfigured wing and one of his forelegs bent in an impossible angle.

 **With Aurora**

Aurora was flying through the sky, searching for her lover. She left the Hall of Origins about half an hour ago when she noticed that Ryker's presence suddenly disappeared from the area. She then took off after him when their friends weren't looking. Aurora scanned the area, looking for any clues that might help her on her search. She suddenly noticed that a hill was demolished and what seemed to be an uprooted tree laying a few meters away. She then looked past it and widened her eyes when she noticed Ryker on the ground unmoving.

 _Ryker! Are you alright, dear?! Please be ok!_ Aurora shouted as she landed next to him, careful not to touch either of his injured limbs.

She shook him several times, not getting a response from the Fenrir. She then took a look at his face and saw that there was not any serious injuries to it neither were there any on the rest of his body save for his leg and wing. She then placed her ear on Ryker's chest above his heart and let out a deep exhalation of relief when she heard healthy beats from within. Aurora then tried shaking Ryker again and this time, he groaned and his unbroken wing twitched in response.

 _Ryker? Can you hear me? Try to stand up._ Aurora told him in a soft tone as she got under one of his shoulders and tried to lift him.

Ryker opened his eyes and noticed Aurora trying to help him up. He then surprised her by getting up at a normal pace, as if he was uninjured in any way. He then noticed the worried look on her face.

 _Aurora? What are you doing here?_ he asked even though he got an idea to why she was there.

 _I should be asking you that! And what happened to you while you were gone?_ she asked angrily, making him flinch and lower his head.

 _I was out flying to clear my mind of the events of the day and didn't pay attention to the wind. I hit turbulence and crash landed here. I'm fine though._

 _Fine? Look at your wing and leg! Tell me if they are fine then I'll believe you're ok._

Ryker gave her a questioning look then finally noticed his two disfigured limbs. He winced at the sight of them and marveled at the fact that the wing membrane of his wing wasn't torn or injured in any way. He then nodded to himself, took his wing in his maw and made some calculations within his head.

 _Does it hurt badly?_ Aurora asked only to flinch and take a step back as Ryker snapped his bent wing back into place with ease.

He then took a look at his fore leg and simply thrusted out with the same limb, snapping the foreleg back into place and making Aurora cringe.

 _He needs to stop doing that._ she thought to herself.

Ryker then tested his limbs and was satisfied with the results. He then nodded to himself again and gave Aurora a look.

 _There. I'm fine, love. No need to worry about me._ he told her reassuringly.

Aurora narrowed her eyes at him for a few moments before giving in and sighing with defeat. She sat down and shook her head, giving him one last concerned look.

 _Are you sure? Are you absolutely positive that you're ok?_

 _I'm fine, Aurora. It was just a little accident is all._

Ryker nuzzled her neck to reassure her, the act already calming her nerves and anxiety. She then smiled and gestured towards the sky with her wings.

 _Come on,_ she suggested, _let's get back to the party and listen to more of Ragna's theories._

Ryker smiled and shook his head before following her back to the Hall of Origins. On the way there, Aurora looked back at him to see that he was smiling at her, strangely in a good mood rather than the usually emotionless visage. She thought this was unusual then dismissed it as nothing and continued to fly. Ryker closed his eyes for a moment. He was really happy that she was there and he silently thanked her for shedding light on the solutions to his problems. It was quite simple really. All he needed to remember was the fact that Aurora was there for him, and that goes for the rest of his family and friends.

They reached the chamber of the party and took their earlier seats. Princess immediately sat on Ryker's back and hugged his neck, burying her cat-like muzzle into it.

 _Alphy! Where were you? You've been gone for a while!_

Ryker chuckled, surprising them with his sudden change of mood and he rolled his shoulders, making her slip and cling onto his neck. He looked down to meet her face and gave a small smile.

 _I just needed some fresh air. No need to worry, alright?_ he told her.

Princess beamed and began to fly around happily, giggling all the way and flipping in the air. The sight made the others smile as well but Darko furrowed his brow. He looked at Ryker and cooked his head a little as he began to grow suspicious. He would look into it later...

The party went on for a couple more hours and Aurora was beginning to get bored... that is, until Harmony, a Meloetta, made an announcement atop a stage.

"I would like to make an announcement to all of those who enjoy the art of la-la-la singing! We will now host a small concert for those who are talented with their words! If you'd like to sing then please come up and transform into your human form. From there, project your voice for all to hear! Break a leg everyone!" she said in a sing-song voice, making Aurora look at Ryker who looked away innocently...The irony...

A few rounds of applause erupted from the Legendaries and Aurora immediately looked at the rest of the group with sparkling eyes.

 _We all should go up there and perform! Come on let's do it!_

Immediately, Ryker got up from his spot and tried to sneak away, failing as Aurora grabbed him by the tail and pulled him back.

 _Please! Can we?!_ she pleaded, making the others sweatdrop.

 _I don't know why you're asking me for. Go right on ahead._

 _But you have to sing too.._

 _..._

Ryker looked at the rest of the group for help for help, getting no responses from them save for evil smirks upon all of their faces. He then looked at Aurora again and sighed, giving in to one of the hardest battles he had ever fought...the battle of wills against Aurora.

 _Fine, I'll go and sing a song if you like, Milady. Don't expect me to like it though._

Aurora smirked and gave him a persuasive look, putting him on the spot unmercifully in front of everyone else.

 _You have to sing at least a FEW songs, Lord Fenrir._

 _*sigh* God or Arceus help me._ Ryker muttered as he looked down at his paws, making a few of the group laugh.

 _Sorry, you're on your own on that one._ Jeanne quickly remarked, again causing everyone save for Ryker to laugh at his little problem.

Ryker gave Aurora one final look before getting up and walking towards the stage, making Aurora give a tiny little cheer before following. Ragna and Saphira decided to follow as well, Ragna catching up to Ryker's side and patting the Fenrir on the shoulder.

"Whipped!" he whispered to Ryker, failing to keep the words silent and earning giggles from the girls.

Ryker turned his head and glared at Ragna, scaring the living hell out of him. Ragna then shook his head and recovered and quickly followed them for he was left behind. Harmony was seen next to the stage, humming to herself. Ryker saw that there were no one else to be seen, meaning that the four of them are the only ones performing for now. Ragna and Saphira rushed past him, obviously wanting to go first. Ragna spoke a few words to Harmony who nodded and walked up onto the stage. A flash went off and Ryker turned to see Aurora in a beautiful dress, one made of silver thread that glinted with every movement. It had blue flower patterns decorating it as well as the image of a teardrop-shaped water droplet on her back. Aurora moved her hair away from her eyes for they were blocking her view and smiled. She then earned a few oohs and ahhs from the surrounding Legendaries including the two Arceus. Ryker suddenly remembered that he had to be in his human form and transformed, the process hiding him from view with shadows as well as drawing attention from the crowd. He then dispersed the shadows, earning gaping months from the females and a few jealous looks from the males.

Ryker was wearing a black blazer that had the Greek letter for "Alpha" (basically a cool looking A) over his breast pocket. He also sported a buttoned up gray collared shirt. However, it wasn't all the way buttoned and it parted at the collar. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and he had a matching belt to go along with the outfit. His necklace shined with a black luster and it caught the attention of Heatran who approved of his pupil's, Aurora, work. Ryker also had on the same pair of black jeans from the last date and his shoes were instead black dress shoes. He had his watch in his left wrist and a black chain bracelet in his right. The bracelet had two horned wolf heads that had their heads locked together, making the link of the bracelet. Finally, Ryker's gloves were not present for once, surprising Aurora immensely.

Aurora finally registered his whole look and staggered back a little bit. She then held out an arm to keep her balance regained her composure, noting to herself to get revenge on Ryker later. Harmony went to the stage and gestured to Ragna who was concentrating to perform the spell that would amplify his voice.

"Here's our first performer! Let's give a round of applause to Ragna Bjartskular everyone!" she sang and a roar of cheers and applause erupted from the crowd.

Ragna cleared his throat for the final time before opening his mouth.

 **"Treasure" Note: Ragna's voice resembles that of B.o.B. but with an accent**

"Give me your, give me your, give me your attention, baby

I gotta tell you a little something about yourself

You're wonderful, flawless, ooh, you're a sexy lady

But you walk around here like you wanna be someone else

(Oh whoa-oh-oh)

I know that you don't know it, but you're fine, so fine (fine, so fine)

(Oh whoa-oh-oh)

Oh girl, I'm gonna show you when you're mine, oh mine (mine, oh mine)

Treasure, that is what you are

Honey, you're my golden star

You know you can make my wish come true

If you let me treasure you

If you let me treasure you

(Whoa-oh-oh-h-h-h)

Pretty girl, pretty girl, pretty girl, you should be smiling

A girl like you should never look so blue

You're everything I see in my dreams

I wouldn't say that to you if it wasn't true

(Oh whoa-oh-oh)

I know that you don't know it, but you're fine, so fine (fine, so fine)

(Oh whoa-oh-oh)

Oh girl, I'm gonna show you when you're mine, oh mine (mine, oh mine)

Treasure, that is what you are

Honey, you're my golden star

You know you can make my wish come true

If you let me treasure you

If you let me treasure you

(Whoa-oh-oh-h-h-h)

You are my treasure, you are my treasure

You are my treasure, yeah, you, you, you, you are

You are my treasure, you are my treasure

You are my treasure, yeah, you, you, you, you are

Treasure, that is what you are

Honey, you're my golden star

You know you could make my wish come true

If you let me treasure you

If you let me treasure you

(whoa-oh-oh-h-h-h)

"Thanks, for listening but this song was intended for my soul mate, Lady Reshiram!"

Ragna bowed and received an applause from his audience and a warm embrace from Saphira. For a quick second, Saphira thought about how amazing it was for the two Arceus to allow a pokemon/human relationship and the fact that everyone else, save for a percentage of humans in society. Saphira then shook her head and spoke to Harmony. Then, she too, got onto the stage.

"Up next, we have Lady Reshiram giving us a performance. Cheer her on everyone!" Harmony announced.

They applauded again and Saphira shook her head, ridding herself of the nervousness she had about a few seconds before. She then transformed, turning into a elegant women who seemed to be in her mid-twenties. She had white hair that was tinged a light red and her blue eyes sparkled with the intensity of fire. She had a white dress on and a necklace with a ring attached was settled around her neck with a fireball pendant in the center.

 **"Break Free" Note: Saphira's voice resembles that of Rachel W.**

"If you want it, take it

I should've said it before

Tried to hide it, fake it

I can't pretend anymore

I only wanna die alive

Never by the hands of a broken heart

Don't wanna hear you lie tonight

Now that I've become who I really are

This is the part when I say I don't want ya

I'm stronger than I've been before

This is the part when I break free

'Cause I can't resist it no more

You were better, deeper

I was under your spell

Like a deadly fever, yeah, babe

On the highway to hell, yeah

I only wanna die alive

Never by the hands of a broken heart

Don't wanna hear you lie tonight

Now that I've become who I really are

This is the part when I say I don't want ya

I'm stronger than I've been before

This is the part when I break free

'Cause I can't resist it no more

No more, baby, ooh

Thought on your body

I came alive

It was lethal

It was fatal

In my dreams it felt so right

But I woke up every time

Oh, baby

This is the part when I say I don't want ya

I'm stronger than I've been before

This is the part when I break free

'Cause I can't resist it no more"

She bowed and received much cheering from the large audience. Princess whistled a few times and Ragna gave a few whoops, making Saphira turn slightly red from embarrassment. She then bowed again and stepped down, walking over to the group table and taking her seat next to Ragna who hugged her on the spot. Next, Aurora went up to the stage and Harmony made her announced. After the applause died down and the cheering from her two brothers stopped, she began to sing.

 **"Need Your Love"**

"I need your love

I need your time

When everything's wrong

You make it right

I feel so high

I come alive

I need to be free with you tonight

I need your love

I need your love

I take a deep breath every time I pass your door

I know you're there but I can't see you anymore

And that's the reason you're in the dark

I've been a stranger ever since we fell apart

And I feel so helpless here

Watch my eyes are filled with fear

Tell me do you feel the same

Hold me in your arms again

I need your love

I need your time

When everything's wrong

You make it right

I feel so high

I come alive

I need to be free with you tonight

I need your love

I need your love

Am I dreaming? Will I ever find you now?

I walk in circles but I'll never figure out

What I mean to you, do I belong?

I try to fight this but I know I'm not that strong

And I feel so helpless here

Watch my eyes are filled with fear

Tell me do you feel the same

Hold me in your arms again

I need your love

I need your time

When everything's wrong

You make it right

I feel so high

I come alive

I need to be free with you tonight

I need your love

I need your love

All the years

All the times

You have never been to blame

And now my eyes are open

And now my heart is closing

And all the tears

All the lies

All the waste

I've been trying to make it change

And now my eyes are open

I need your love

I need your time

When everything's wrong

You make it right

I feel so high

I come alive

I need to be free"

A silence lasted for a few moments before the chamber suddenly erupted in a chorus of applause and cheers even from Darko and Jeanne. Aurora nodded her thanks with a smile and walked down from the stage to head for her seat at the table. As she passed Ryker, he gave her his praise and she told him good luck. Ryker then exhaled miserably though hiding it well then got onto the stage. Harmony didn't even bother announcing him since he was the main focus of the day's events but he still received a round of applause and a few shouts of encouragement from the group. Ryker then closed his eyes and cleared his throat. When he opened his eyes again, his eyes seem to flash just for a moment as he gave the audience a small smile which made Aurora smile as well, happy that he's opening up even if it's just by a little.

 _Make sure you smile the whole time and put a little feeling into it, dear!_ she told him before he began, making him inwardly groan to her request.

 **"Mirrors"**

"Aren't you somethin' to admire?

'Cause your shine is somethin' like a mirror

And I can't help but notice

You reflect in this heart of mine

(At this, he earns a few tugs from the heart of a few female Legendaries)

If you ever feel alone and

The glare makes me hard to find

Just know that I'm always

Parallel on the other side

(Ryker looks into Aurora's eyes)

'Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul

I can tell you there's no place we couldn't go

Just put your hand on the glass

I'll be tryin' to pull you through

You just gotta be strong

(He takes a deep breath)

'Cause I don't wanna lose you now (some females in the room coos)

I'm lookin' right at the other half of me

The vacancy that sat in my heart

Is a space that now you hold

Show me how to fight for now

And I'll tell you, baby, it was easy

Comin' back here to you once I figured it out

You were right here all along

It's like you're my mirror

My mirror staring back at me

I couldn't get any bigger

With anyone else beside of me

And now it's clear as this promise

That we're making two reflections into one

'Cause it's like you're my mirror

My mirror staring back at me, staring back at me

(Ryker smirked and winked, earning a few more coos from the female crowd)

Aren't you somethin', an original

'Cause it doesn't seem merely a sample

And I can't help but stare, 'cause

I see truth somewhere in your eyes

I can't ever change without you

You reflect me, I love that about you

And if I could, I would look at us all the time

(A few Legendaries come up from the stage and try to reach for his hand)

'Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul

I can tell you there's no place we couldn't go

Just put your hand on the glass

I'll be tryin' to pull you through

You just gotta be strong

'Cause I don't wanna lose you now

I'm lookin' right at the other half of me

The vacancy that sat in my heart

Is a space that now you hold

Show me how to fight for now

And I'll tell you, baby, it was easy

Comin' back here to you once I figured it out

You were right here all along

It's like you're my mirror

My mirror staring back at me

I couldn't get any bigger

With anyone else beside of me

And now it's clear as this promise

That we're making two reflections into one

'Cause it's like you're my mirror

My mirror staring back at me, staring back at me

(He looks at the whole crowd)

Yesterday is history

Tomorrow's a mystery

I can see you lookin' back at me

Keep your eyes on me

Baby, keep your eyes on me

(He smiles and throws out his left hand)

'Cause I don't wanna lose you now

I'm lookin' right at the other half of me

The vacancy that sat in my heart

Is a space that now you hold

Show me how to fight for now (please show me, baby)

I'll tell you, baby, it was easy

Comin' back here to you once I figured it out

You were right here all along

It's like you're my mirror

My mirror staring back at me

I couldn't get any bigger

With anyone else beside of me

And now it's clear as this promise

That we're making two reflections into one

'Cause it's like you're my mirror

My mirror staring back at me, staring back at me

(This next line, his voice echoes)

You are, you are the love of my life [x10]

Now you're the inspiration for this precious song

And I just wanna see your face light up since you put me on

So now I say goodbye to the old me, it's already gone

And I can't wait wait wait wait wait to get you home

Just to let you know, you are

(echoes)

You are, you are the love of my life [x8]

Girl you're my reflection, all I see is you

My reflection, in everything I do

You're my reflection and all I see is you

My reflection, in everything I do

(echoes as he gives Aurora another look)

You are, you are the love of my life [x16].. "

Ryker bowed and he looked at the floor, his well acted happy face disappeared as his normal calm and emotionless expression returned. A moment of silence, like Aurora's situation, lasted for a while and Ryker began to walk off the stage. However, that was not before the crowd bursted into an orchestral cheer and applause. Some of the female Legendary tried to get close to him to try and seduce him but he quickly disappeared and reappeared next to Aurora in his Fenrir form, surprising them all. Aurora immediately took her chance in front off all the infatuated females and lightly kissed Ryker on the muzzle, to which he softened up to and responded with a kiss of his own as well as a hug. This made the infatuated give a few "Lucky", "Awww", and "Damn it!" as they returned to whatever they were doing.

 **Later**

Ryker and Aurora were in their cave at Mt. Moon a few hours later after the party. After some more performances, the party went on for a while and Ryker, as well as Aurora, decided it was time to retire for the night. After receiving a quick recap of their mission from Jeanne, Ryker and Aurora left The Hall of Origins. Ryker stretched his arms and yawned, causing some pebbles on the cave floor to shake and bounce. He then turned around and smiled as he saw Aurora resting peacefully back in the deeper parts of the cave. He quietly padded up to her and laid down next to her. He noticed how her breaths were making the brighter streams of her mane glow brighter depending on the intensity of the breathing. With every inhale, the streams glowed brighter and with every exhale, the streams dimmed a little. Ryker silently chuckled to himself and draped his wing over her, acting as her warm blanket. Ryker then looked out the mouth of the cave and thought about the earlier events during the party. A few moments later, he shook his head, smiling a bit as he cleared the dark thoughts away from his head. He then lowered his head onto the cave floor and closed his eyes, sleep slowly but surely taking him away into the night.

The next morning, Aurora woke with a smile but her expression quickly turned to that of wonder as she looked around for any sign of Ryker. She then concluded that he was gone for morning training and smiled as she felt a barrier surrounding the area.

 _*sigh* Protecting me even when you're gone, huh?_ she thought to herself with a small smile.

She turned around to get some more rest but jumped as a pair of black wings covered her field of vision.

 _Of course I do, dear. Otherwise, how can I be even considered to be your lover?_ Ryker whispered into her mind with a small chuckle.

Aurora giggled and surprised him by suddenly turning around and planting a kiss on the side of his muzzle. She then noticed that he had a Numel in his jaws, half of it roasted to her tastes and the other half left untouched.

 _Hungry?_ he asked receiving a nod from Aurora who thanked him.

They ate their Numel slowly, enjoying their time together before being thrown into another quest. They conversed and recalled their time in the other dimension with Sora and the gang.

 _He was always the cheerful one. He never seems to frown or anything._ Aurora remarked.

 _Indeed. He was an eager ball of light with seemingly endless optimism and enthusiasm. I'd be surprised if we ever see him in a bad mood._

 _It's possible but I doubt he would stay like that for longer than a while._

 _True. But that's IF he gets in a bad mood._

 **Destiny Islands**

"Ah-chooo! Phew!" Sora exclaimed as he wiggled his nose.

He scratched the back of his head, cooking his eyebrow and looking below him, seeing Riku and the others playing a game of rugby. He then look to the sky and narrowed his eyes as if he was scrutinizing it.

"Sora! Get your head back in the *pffft* game!" Donald admonished, snapping Sora back to reality.

Sora then gave him a thumbs-up before jumping down to the sand field, laughing as he was passed the egg-shaped ball.

 **Back to Ryker and Aurora**

They laughed as they recalled the memories regarding Sora. That was when Aurora remembered Yuffie, the ninja who was infatuated with Ryker at the time. Aurora thought about how the girl assaulted her with hurtful words and then smiled as she remembered that they made up sort of later on. She looked at Ryker who was done with his Numel and was currently licking his teeth.

 _I just noticed something. Do you ever brush your teeth in human form?_ she ask.

At this, a low chuckle came from Ryker who gave her an amused look.

 _My tongue has little special barb-like structures that help "comb" my fur as well as polishing my claws and teeth. Whenever I polish my teeth, I find a mint leaf and chew on it, smearing it around my teeth whilst polishing it. I'm surprised you haven't noticed this yet._

Aurora nodded in understanding and wondered if she had any of those on her tongue. Surprisingly, she did and it finally dawned on her that they are the reason why her teeth were always in great condition. She had always thought that they her tongue can just scrub really well. She then shook her head, amusing herself since she had never noticed it before.

Later, they went to The Hall of Origins to meet up with Ragna and Saphira for their mission. Ryker and Aurora walked down one of the many Chambers in the holy area, stopping when they saw Ragna and Saphira waiting for them. Ragna smiled as he saw the duo, waving at them casually whilst walking up to them.

"I'm glad you two decided to help us on this mission. Thanks for providing the extra help."

Aurora smiled and shook her head, giving a look at both Ragna and Saphira.

 _No problem. Besides, this just means another adventure for the four of us, right?_ she told them as she looked at Ryker who nodded.

Ryker then transformed into his human form and fixed a kink in his wrist.

"Where's our destination?" he asked as he rotated one of his shoulders.

Ragna put a hand on his chin and thought about it for a few moments before snapping his fingers.

"I forgot." he replied, making the three sweatdrop.

 _It's in Sinnoh though I have to set the coordinates for you three to get there._

They turned to see Jeanne smiling at them. Ryker nodded and summoned a portal, prompting Jeanne to do what must be done. She went up to the portal and focused on it, setting the destination for the four of them. She then backed away and smiled again.

 _There. You can all begin with your mission now. However, before you go, do any of you have any questions?_ she announced as she looked at them.

"Is there anything we should know about?" Ryker immediately asked.

 _Your ally, Rick, is young but his judgement is something you should all follow. Another thing, do not anger him or do anything that might compromise his trust for you._

They nodded and bowed to her before going through the portal. When the portal disappeared, Jeanne suddenly facepalmed and tilted her head back.

 _Is there something wrong Jeanne?_ Darko asked as he suddenly appeared by her side whilst yawning.

 _I forgot to tell them that they should refer Lord Fenrir as something other than Alpha on their missions. This will certainly cause some confusion over there... Should I tell them?_

Darko yawned again and led her down the hallway whilst rubbing the back of her neck, relaxing her a bit.

 _Nah, I think they'll be able to figure it out. Let's go eat._

 **In Sinnoh in a forest**

Ryker and the group and looked around, seeing nothing but trees and a large lake. Ragna scratched the back of his head and whistled.

"Do you think she made a small miscalculation?" he asked them.

"I don't think she would. Maybe we-" Ryker began but stopped, focusing on an area nearby that made his instincts go crazy.

He then looked at Aurora and Saphira, Ragna seemed to be talking to himself as he searched.

"Do you feel that, Aurora? Lady Reshiram?" he asked them as he gestured behind them.

Aurora nodded and tried to make sense of it and Saphira stepped forward and nudged Ryker with one of her wings. He didn't lose his balance though since she was in her **Altered Form** which shrunk her size down to the size of a house.

 _You can just call me "Saphira." No need to be so formal._

Ryker nodded and bowed his head a little as he turned away.

"If you insist. Anyways, what we're feeling is large. A barrier most likely. So that means that's where Sanctuary is." he said as he walked towards the area.

They followed him and Saphira called Ragna who wasn't listening apparently. They walked for about ten minutes, stopping when two Gallade in armor as well as equipped with rifles blocked their way.

 _Stop! You are entering a prohibited area. Turn around and never speak of this place!_ one of them spat.

They then noticed Aurora and Saphira, bowing apologetically before returning their attention to Ryker and Ragna. A third Gallade, this one seemingly much more powerful than the measly guards, appeared whilst holding up a hand, calling back the guards and making them lower their weapons. The group noticed that he had the newest poketranslator equipped in his poketch.

"It's fine! They're with me sent by Lady Arceus _._ " he said with authority, though his tone was a little laid back.

The guards nodded and went back to their posts and the Gallade in front of them smiled whilst scratching the back of his head.

"Sorry about that. I forgot to inform them that we should be expecting a few visitors soon." he told them as he walked closer and extended his hand.

"It's cool and those guards are good at their job." Ragna said as he shook the newcomer's hand.

"Thanks, trained them myself. My name is Aeruthael but my friends call me Rick. I'm the Warlord as well as the Prince of Sanctuary." Rick announced as he led them towards the gates.

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Ragna, the Knight of Drakes." Ragna announced making Rick nod with a smile as well as a surprised expression.

 _My name is Saphira Bjartskular. Like Ragna, it's a pleasure to meet you, Warlord._ Saphira told him.

Rick turned to Aurora and widened his eyes as he finally noticed her coloration as well as her wings. He then noticed the dry ice streams in her mane as well as the necklace around her neck. He then made note of her bracelets around her ankles as well as around her tails. Aurora bowed with a smile and announced herself.

 _I'm Aurora North and it's an honor to meet you. And my silent partner over there is Alpha._ she said, not noticing the pale expression on Rick's face.

Rick turned to look at Ryker who bowed his head a little and extended his hand. Rick noticed Ryker's eyes and the strange markings on his face that seemed to trail down the rest of his body. He then felt a dark but non-violent aura emanating from Ryker. Thinking he's safe to trust, Rick shook Ryker's hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Warlord Aeruthael. My name is Alpha Fang and I'm the last Knight of Shadows and Flames." Ryker stated.

Rick nodded and withdrew his hand, turning back to the gate and knocking on it. A small opening revealed itself then disappeared as the gate opened up, revealing the hidden city behind it. Rick smiled and led them inside.

"This is Sanctuary, home of Gallade and Gardevoir. As you know, it's hidden by a barrier and is protected by some security systems we installed recently. There are multiple dens, housing if you will, in the city and you'll have to take an elevator to get to them since they are on different floors. If you ever need me, I'll be at the 11th den which has the city's capital and the monument of Illia who's our founder. You don't have to worry about housing since I already made arrangements and another thing is that there's laws in this city and you four are still expected to follow them. Also, no pokeballs allowed. My people will go crazy if they see one...they really will.."

Ragna looked around and noticed the many onlooking residents of the city.

"It doesn't look like we're liked here." Ragna remarked as a Kirlia ran off and hid behind her mother.

Rick chuckled and shook his head as he led them through a maze of buildings.

"Don't worry about it. If they see all of you around me, they'll know to trust you as well as treat you with respect."

He then stopped in front of a car, a Lamborghini Aventador to be exact. He then noticed that there are not enough seats within so he snapped his fingers, a couple of guards appearing at the sound.

"Bring me a limousine please." he told them but was interrupted by Ryker who held up his hand.

"I have a car that is programmed to appear at my side at the click of a button. Do you mind if I bring it here so you won't have to go through the trouble?"

Rick smiled and shook his head, dismissing the guards after telling them to expect a car to arrive and leaned against his car. Ryker then pulled out a set of keys and pushed a small button on one of them. Aurora then noticed that the car was all the way in Kanto and told Ryker about it who told her not to be concerned since the car has some special properties. A few minutes later, Ryker's car arrived and parked itself behind Rick's, the engine that was glowing black for a second which surprised the others stopping and the car shut off.

"... How?" Rick asked Ryker as said Fenrir unlocked his sports/muscle car.

"I saved Mr. Silph's life once a while back so he now provides me with a large sum of money per month. I designed and made this car myself, it being the first and only of its kind. As for how it got here, the engine is equipped with a teleportation system that can only be used once after recharging for about a few hours."

Rick whistled and examined the car a bit further.

"What is it? And what is this thing fitted with?"

Ryker put the keys into the ignition and started the car, impressing Rick with the level of silence the engine emitted.

"It's a Zero-Type Fang GT Muscle, a cross between supercar and muscle car. It has the latest version of Nitrous and as for the parts, I haven't allowed Mr. Silph make it public as well as available yet." Ryker answered as he looked at them. "Who's going with who? Or should I just drive my whole group and we'll follow you?" he asked.

Rick smiled and cracked his fingers, making Saphira cringe at the sight.

"How about Aurora ride with you and Ragna as well as Saphira ride with me?"

"it's up to them, it doesn't matter to me."

Rick looked at the other three who nodded in agreement. Rick then dialed in a number and an Umbreon picked up on the other end.

"What's up, Rick?"

"Dartz! Can you prepare the Chief's Court for a meeting? We have some VIPs here to introduce."

"No problem. When will you be arriving?"

Rick looked at the others, asking them if they should have a race which excited Ragna. They looked at Ryker who simply shrugged and nodded to the challenge. Rick looked back at his poketch and smiled widely.

"Very soon. Expect some skid marks on the road, buddy."

Dartz chuckled and shook his head. The Umbreon was then kissed by a Glaceon, who giggled as he kissed her back.

"Well I'll go and, uh, tell Harmony to prepare the meeting." Dartz replied quickly, communication with his poketch cutting off.

Rick sighed with amusement and led Ragna and Saphira into his car, Ragna sitting in the passenger seat and Saphira in the back in her human form. He then turned on the car and led Ryker to an intersection, the road leading to the Chief's Court.

 _Do you have the latest poketch communication between cars?_ Rick asked Ryker as he put on his earpiece since his opponent's windows were rolled up.

"That I do." Ryker replied through his earpiece, waiting for the go.

Rick nodded and focused on the road. He then revved his engine a bit, trying to get the same result from Ryker who did the same. When he did so, Ryker's engine gave a powerful roar that seemed to shake Rick and the other two in their seats.

 _I guess the car can be loud when it wants to._ Rick thought to himself as he rolled his neck.

"On my go!" he told Ryker who gave an affirmative in response.

"Three. Two. One. Go!"

Both cars sped off towards the direction of the Chief's Court, Rick's engine attracting the attention of many as Ryker's was silent through it all. At the moment, Rick was in the lead, pulling sharp turns and tires squealing.

"C'mon, Alpha! I know you can do better than that!" Rick teased through the communicator.

Aurora looked at Ryker who just seemed to be focusing intently on the layout of the town in the holographic map that Rick had sent him at the start of the race. Ryker then gave Aurora a look and put a hand on her lap.

"Do you trust me, Aurora?" he asked in a low voice as if to avoid letting Rick hear.

This made Aurora smile as well as turn serious as she nodded and held onto his hand.

"Of course I do." she replied, earning a rare smile of mischief from her lover.

Ryker then returned his attention to the road and took a detour into an alleyway making sure to check for life forces before doing so. He drove through the alleyways skillfully, making VERY sharp turns and avoiding dumpsters and dead ends. Aurora knew she trusted Ryker but held onto her seat for dear life, eyes going wide at the fact that he was actually multitasking: planning detours whilst reading the map as well as driving at the same time!

At this time, Rick noticed that Ryker was no longer behind him. He then wondered to himself triumphantly.

 _I guess I left him in the dust._

He then spoke into his communicator as he tried to locate Ryker's position on his map.

"Hey, Alpha (he shivers every time he says that), did I leave you behiiin-what?!" he exclaimed as he saw a dot that represented Ryker going through narrow alleyways and pathways.

He saw that Ryker was driving at an impressive speed with such ease and Rick began to get worried so he put the petal to the metal.

Ryker drifted into a turn, making his car drift in a large half circle before peeling away into an actual road. When he did this, to his right, Rick nearly jumped out of his seat as he saw Ryker's car zoom into an alleyway in his field of vision. Rick then grinded his teeth and sped up, his car reaching 182 mph as it raced through the city. He then turned and the road he was on was a straightaway, making him smile as he thought that he can go full speed without anything hindering his progress. His car reached 247 mph and he activated the Nitrous, bring up to the speed of 272.

Ryker then appeared out of nowhere, his car catching up to Rick's at a steady rate. Rick smiled and spoke into his communicator, Ragna and Saphira can be heard screaming their heads off in the background as he spoke.

"Looks like I take the win, Alpha! You can't beat a Lamborghini, bro!"

Ryker then narrowed his eyes even further as he spotted a dumpster with its lid open in the distance. Even further ahead, a large gap separated the Chief's Court and the road they were in like a moat. One would have to make a turn and cross a bridge to reach it. Being the only one who saw it, Ryker speeds up and tells Aurora to hold on.

"You might want to place a barrier around you in case something happens." Ryker told her, making her really confused.

He noticed her expression and pointed ahead of them. Aurora followed the General direction and didn't see anything at first so she focused her eyes making her vision magnify by about 50 yards. Her eyes then widened and returned to normal vision as she held onto Ryker's arm even tighter.

"If we crash, you owe me dinner." she told him.

"Deal." was his reply as he activated the Nitrous, making the car's speed top off at 320 mph.

He sped past Rick, his tires leaving scorch marks on the road as he did so. Rick couldn't believe how fast they were going and slapped his dashboard, trying to figure out what they were up to. He then noticed they were headed for a dumpster with an open lid and his eyes grew wide in shock, letting Ragna and Saphira know mentally about what Ryker and Aurora were attempting to do.

"Holy sh-" Rick and Ragna began but had gaping mouths as Ryker's car hit the somewhat twisted ramp.

His car flew through the air, the tires finally cooling down and smoke dissipating. The car remain suspended in the air for four. five. six seconds total as it barrel-rolled to the right and landed on the road perfectly on the other side. The car then skidded to a stop in front of the Chief's Court and all onlookers whooped at the amazing feet.

Aurora was shivering, her teeth clacking as she hugged Ryker's arm. She was used to heights and such but to remain seated in a car that can explode in the wrong move can be somewhat daunting. She then regained her composure and looked up at Ryker who released his pent-up breath and smiled.

"What are you NOT good at?" she asked, earning a small laugh from Ryker as he drove the car to a sidewalk before switching it off.

 **Later**

"That was bullshit." Rick muttered as he and the rest of his family watched the race footage in an office.

Jean, a Blaziken, laughed loudly and gave a playful punch to Ryker who was sitting next to Aurora on a chair. Jean then went over to an Espeon, Seras, and they both laughed together at the footage.

"Damn! You got your ass handed to you pretty bad!" Ashlyn, a Glacieon, remarked as she rewinded the video multiple times, watching the amazing stunt pulled by Ryker.

A Gardevoir, Harmony, shook her head as a smile was plastered upon her face. She then seemed to be engaged in a mental conversation with Rick who turned red at an unspoken embarrassing comment.

"Alright, guys, that's enough, hehe. We should all prepare for the meeting now. Rick, hon, I have to check up on Sheerah." Alara, Rick's mate, announced as she turned off the camera footage.

They were all part of Rick's family and out of all of them, Seras seemed to be the most mature. As they filed out of the room, they gave a few congratulations to Ryker and Aurora and Rick sighed with defeat before walking out. Ryker and Aurora followed with Ragna and Saphira following them.

 **Later**

"That took WAY TOO LONG!" Ragna exclaimed as they walked out of the Chief's Court.

Rick chuckled and put a hand on his shoulder, making the Knight of Drakes look at him.

"That was actually the shortest meeting I and the others ever had. They usually average three to five hours tops."

"...Saphira and I are going to go flying." Ragna said emotionless as Saphira picked him up and took off, leaving the group.

During the meeting, the newcomers introduced themselves to the Council and Aurora already didn't like one of them who goes by the name of Zenek. They conversed about plans for getting rid of Team Rocket as well as strategies and tactics for military purposes. At this, Ryker mentioned that he was a former SF soldier and introduced new ideas to them such as the mute charges and things of the like. The meeting actually lasted for an hour and a half and Lord Daedelus, the former Warlord, had asked Ryker and Aurora to meet up with him in the main courtyard. At the moment, Rick was leading them to the area so that they wouldn't get lost.

"Hey, Rick! Have you seen Sage?" an Absol asked as she walked by.

"Oh Serenity! Sage is in his office if you want to see him."

"Ok thanks. Oh? Who are they?"

Aurora smiled and waved (human form still), moving the hair away from her eyes so she could see.

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Aurora, an Islingr Suicune." she told her as Serenity smiled.

"Likewise! I'm Serenity, one of Rick's friends. And you are?" Serenity asked, looking at Ryker.

Ryker snapped out of his thoughts that he was having since the meeting and allowed a small smile to the Absol who seemed to be in her early twenties.

"Sorry about that. My name is Alpha Fang, a Knight of Alph." he explained, earning a quizzical look from Serenity.

"Knight of Alph? Something like Michael then?" she asked, making Ryker look at Rick for an explanation.

"Michael, or "A" since Lady Arceus renamed him that, is a Knight of Arceus, the Guardian of Pokémon to be exact. And Serenity, the Knights of Alph are totally different from the Knights of Arceus." Rick explained with a matter-of-fact tone.

Serenity looked confused and tilted her head to the side, her horn nearly making contact with a streetlight.

"How so?"

"Knights of Alph guard many seals that contain demons or beings with evil intent. There's a Knight for every element and they hold as much importance as the Knights of Arceus." Ryker replied, earning an understanding nod from Serenity.

Rick suddenly cut in and gave Serenity an apologetic smile.

"Sorry to cut this short but we have to get to the courtyard right now." he told her.

"Oh! No problem, Rick! I guess I'll see you all later then! Ta-ta!" she replied and with that, she left the area.

As they walked to the courtyard, Rick noticed that Aurora was in her human form yes, but it was not completely human like and stilled showed her pokémon features. He asked her about it and got an explanation in response.

"I never really figured out how to transform completely, actually. I'm trying to find someone to teach me though." she replied, stealing a glance at Ryker.

Rick, however, gave them a surprising response.

"Why don't you ask Alpha? He isn't human, right?"

Ryker suddenly stopped and grabbed Rick's wrist, his grip making the Gallade slightly wince in response and quickly get nervous.

"How do you know that?" Ryker asked, his voice threatening to eliminate Rick on the spot.

Rick suddenly bared fangs and his eyes flashed red for a second. He then freed his hand from Ryker and took a step back.

"Lady Arceus told me. She said that you two already know a bit about me so it's only fair for me to know a bit about the two of you. Honestly, I'm a bit honored that the last of the species my last name takes after is standing in front of me."

Ryker looked at Rick for a quick second before nodding and bowing his head a little.

"I apologize for my outburst. Had I known Lady Arceus had told you about me I would not have reacted that way. Though, may I ask why you look like that?" Ryker stated.

Rick's eyes returned to normal and his fangs disappeared as well. He then calmed down and smiled, making Aurora sweatdrop at the fact that the two males can calm at an amazing speed.

"Have you ever heard of Projects?" Rick asked.

Rick explained about himself and how he used to be Project Alpha, an experiment of Team Rocket. They basically infused his DNA with other powerful DNA and made him very powerful when he was a Kirlia. He then escaped imprisonment and was taken in by his family's trainer who passed away some time later. He also explained that he can actually freely use his powers at will but hesitated when he talked about Thaleus coming back and how he used to be a Legendary as well as the son of the last Arceus that ruled. They then neared the courtyard by the time Rick finished his explanation.

"At least he had a change of heart and that he isn't bloodthirsty." Aurora remarked as they walked.

Ryker nodded at this and placed a reassuring hand on Rick's shoulder, his eyes turning stern and serious.

"At least Thaelus is on our side. As long as we can trust him and as long as you got your family, something to fight for, then you'll be alright. I know how you used to feel and I'm going through it as well. Though, I don't have a sentient being in my consciousness."

Rick smiled and nodded but Aurora cocked an eyebrow, wondering what Ryker meant by his last statement. She then decided to ask him about it later. However, there was another question that she had in mind.

"Say, Ryker (Ryker told Rick of his real name to avoid confusion), do you have a form like mine where it's somewhat human?"

Ryker nodded and focused on the oncoming courtyard up ahead.

"I actually do though the only thing human-like is the body frame. Basically, the bones save for my head and obviously feet and hands as well as my tail."

"Can you show it to us?"

"Hold that thought. We're here." Rick interrupted as they reached the courtyard, spotting Lord Daedelus and two others.

One of them was a Gallade and he resembled Rick but looked older and strangely, goofier. The other was a beautiful Gardevoir who seemed to be scolding the Gallade.

"Mom! Dad! Fancy seeing you two here!" Rick announced, making his parents turn and face him.

Ryker and Aurora had already seen the two once before during the meeting. Lord Xeron, the Gallade, was Rick's father and along with his wife, Aldira, in command of the Arceus Knights. Xeron smiled and noticed that Ryker was present. Immediately, he pointed a finger at Ryker and cracked his neck.

"Fang, was it? Lady Arceus told me much about you. Let's how a battle, here and now!" he challenge, making them sweatdrop.

Aldira tried to intervene but Rick held her back, reassuring her and ushering Aurora to the side. Ryker looked at Xeron who was pretty heavy-set as well as being as tall as him. Ryker knew he couldn't avoid the situation so he sighed and nodded, his expression calm causing the others to wonder how was he always level-headed.

"I accept." was Ryker's reply and Xeron smiled, walking to one side of the courtyard while Ryker walked to the other. Xeron summoned two dark swords connected by a chain, Shadowbane, a weapon passed down Rick's family for many generations, and pointed it at Ryker.

"Ready, Lord Fenrir?" he asked, knowing that the battle will be long and arduous.

Ryker summoned his swords as well, surprising the others save for Aurora. Aurora then became surprised as well, seeing that Ryker was holding both swords and wondered why he decided to do so since he usually starts out with one. She then noticed that Ryker was deadly serious, seemingly to be focusing on a strategy.

Ryker was actually thinking about his opponent. He knew that Xeron was the leader of the Knights of Arceus so it was obvious that he was no common combatant. Ryker also knew that Xeron was extremely powerful, far surpassing Rick as well as any other foe he has encountered before. Ryker then nodded, bringing up both of his swords as Xeron charged and attacked with incredible speed and force.

Xeron jumped back, throwing Shadowbane at Ryker who slashed at the sword, knocking it back at Xeron. Ryker then charged forward, attacking with both swords simultaneously and pushing Xeron further back. Ryker suddenly jumped back as Xeron headbutted him, making Ryker's nose bleed. Ryker then wiped off the blood and cracked his neck, raising an eyebrow in amusement as Xeron finally noticed a slash wound on his shoulder. Xeron audibly laughed and charged again, this time swinging Shadowbane through the air. Ryker jumped and sent one of his swords to the ground through one of the chain links that connected the dual Shadowbane. Xeron was surprised at the tactic and in that moment of shock, Ryker kicked him back and sent him threw a wall.

As they battled, Aldira, Rick, Daedelus, and Aurora watched in awe as the two immensely powerful males fought against each other. It was too much to even stand in the area so they retreated several meters back. Aurora then saw Xeron blocking one of Ryker's attacks and inflicted a powerful slash on Ryker's side.

"Hehe. I think I can predict your movements now." Xeron remarked as he flicked a piece of rubble off of his armor.

Ryker smiled inwardly, knowing that Xeron was just aiming to throw him off. In truth, Ryker's sword techniques were a combination of powerful sword techniques he developed on his own, making it almost impossible for one to read it. However, Ryker decided to humor Xeron and proceeded to make things interesting. He blocked Xeron's next attack with one of his swords then shocked all of them by flipping his sword in his right hand around and swung, landing a hit in the Knight. Xeron bit his lip as he cringed from the pain and backed off from Ryker who flipped his left sword as well, making both swords in the backhanded style. Ryker chuckled to himself, knowing that suddenly switching sword styles will throw his opponents off. He then charged, performing fast, agile, as well as powerful strikes that Xeron was barely able to defend against. Ryker then flipped his swords again, returning to his previous style and surprising them once more, landing a few hits in Xeron before kicking the Gallade away.

A moment of silence hung in the air before an audible growl was heard from Xeron. He roared as a draw aura developed him and when it evaporated, it revealed him to be a large bipedal silver wolf donned in samurai armor. He then disappeared and reappeared behind Ryker and clawed him, sending Ryker to the ground. Ryker then kicked up, hitting Xeron on the chin before landing on his feet. Ryker then swung at Xeron who shot eyebeams at both swords, surprising Ryker as well as knocking his swords out of his hands. Xeron then punched Ryker, sending the Fenrir into a wall that fell atop of him due to the powerful impact.

Aurora held her breath, never before she had seen Ryker being in a disadvantage before. She then felt relieved as Ryker got up and snapped his nose back into place as well as donning his armor. He then fired a few fireballs at shadow attacks at Xeron who didn't see it coming and howled in pain as the attacks landed. Xeron then recovered and looked up to see Ryker's fist connecting with his snout, sending the warrior into the ground as well as creating a large crater. Ryker was then lifted into the air as a blood-red tendrils of energy shot through his shoulder and threw him to the ground. Xeron got up, a throaty chuckle that resembled the noise of rocks grating against each other escaped his maw.

"I... Win... " he announced, his throat obviously wasn't formed to project words in this form.

He was about to transform and walk over to Ryker but suddenly, a small chuckle escaped the downed Fenrir's lips as he got up and held his shoulder. He then closed his eyes then opened them, making Aurora jump as she noticed that his eyes were predatory for a quick second before turning back to normal. Ryker then growled as he began to transform in front of them. However, the result was not what Aurora expected at all.

When his aura cleared, it revealed a large bipedal black wolf donned in armor, a transparent cape of shadows flowed on the back. A pair of black wings were evident, sprouting from small indents in the armor. Aurora noticed that his muscles were more defined in this form as well as the fact that he was slightly taller. Fearsome claws can be seen at the end of his gauntlets and a flaming tail sprouted from the hind area of the armor. His canine feet were also visible where his human feet should be. There were large black spikes, one sprouting from each shoulder and one smaller spike on his elbows and knees. Finally, Ryker's head was instead his Fenrir head, the horns glinting in the sunlight. On his back, in between his wings, his two swords hung crossed and sheathed in black leather. Ryker suddenly raked his claws through his fur on his head, cracking his neck as well.

Xeron took a step back, the others following suit as they were also very intimidated by this new look. Ryker then looked at the sky and then at Aurora.

"I guess this answers your earlier question." he told her, surprising them all that he could actually talk verbally in this form.

Aurora noticed that like his voice in his Fenrir form, it's more authoritative and powerful than his voice in his human form. Ryker then turned back to Xeron and took a deep breath, the flames lining his tribal patterns flaring a bit when he did so.

"Shall we continue?" he asked Xeron who shook his head before charging.

He got closer and closer until Ryker suddenly jumped over him, avoiding the ram, and landed on all fours. Xeron turned around and Ryker tackled him, sending the two through yet, another wall. Xeron tried to get up but couldn't since Ryker was standing atop of him. He suddenly got off and Xeron got upright, summoning Shadowbane again, though this time, without the chain and extra blade. Ryker drew one of his swords as well and proceeded to twirl it in his hand, not allowing Xeron to figure out which style he was going to use. Xeron then growled in frustration and fired a blood-red wave of energy from the sword to which Ryker responded by breathing a ferocious stream of black hellfire, easily tearing through the energy wave and scorching Xeron. Xeron rolled around on the ground, desperately trying to put of the flames but it all proved to be futile. Ryker then put out the flames and got in a charging position with both swords. The swords were then crackling with shadow as dark energy wrapped around it. Ryker then slashed at Xeron, sending a terrifying wave of shadow at him. Xeron saw this and braced himself, letting out an audible grunt as the attack knocked him back some and left some lacerations on his chest and arms.

Xeron then growled repeatedly as if ranting and pointed Shadowbane in the air, charging energy in it. He then released it and countless orbs rained down towards Ryker who stood his ground.

Aurora bit the inside of her mouth, not sure whether or not Ryker will be able to withstand the obviously powerful attack. She then noticed that Ryker closed his eyes and in that moment, her view of him was obscured by the orbs. All of a sudden, the orbs seemed to fly back at Xeron who didn't expect it and got hit. Soon, multiple orbs flew back to him and he dodged and slashed to avoid them all. They looked at Ryker's position and saw that he was actually deflecting them all, switching from the normal grip to backhanded from time to time. He deflected the ones from behind, in front, above, basically, in all directions flawlessly, sending each of them back to Xeron and scoring a several hits. This lasted for another few seconds until he finally ceased his deflections, all of the orbs were rid of and his opponent, panting. Ryker exhaled, dark smoke escaping his maw before he disappeared and reappeared in front of Xeron, kneeling the Gallade in the stomach and elbowing his back, sending him to the ground.

Ryker stood there for a few seconds, staring at the downed Gallade who didn't get up from his spot. Xeron then waved a white flag in the air, making everyone sweatdrop to the fact that he seemingly pulled it out of nowhere.

 **Some time after first-aid kits were needed**

"Ow! What do you think you're doing, woman?" Xeron asked through his bandages.

"What do you think? It was your ass that challenged him!"

"But you know me. I love to fight!"

"And I HATE having to help you recover afterwards!"

"Oh, but when it comes to me coming home, you don't mind helping me "recover" in our room." he muttered.

Aldira smacked him on his back, making her husband cough up a bit of blood. Rick smiled at the sight, his parents getting along as usual. Aurora was a bit confused, wondering how Rick was able to put up with it. She turned around and saw Ryker watching the clouds, his armor gone and was replaced with a black jacket and t-shirt as well as having shoes. His gloves were on again and though his hands transformed into fearsome claws, they still seem to fit. Aurora walked over to him and nudged his side.

"You're not going to transform back into your human form?"

Ryker took a look at himself and shrugged, ignoring the stares and comments of onlookers nearby.

"I haven't been in this form for a while. I think I'll stay in it a bit longer to make sure I'm still used to it. If you're uncomfortable though, I don't mind changing back."

Aurora smiled and sat on his lap, leaning her head in the crook of his neck.

"I'm not uncomfortable at all, just surprised. Though I noticed that you look handsome in all of your forms." she replied, trying to get him in a happy mood but was also telling him the truth.

Ryker smiled and hugged her with an arm, embracing her gently since that he could easily snap her spine in two by accident. They then noticed that Xeron was walking towards them, limping from a stab wound that wasn't there before. Xeron extended his hand, offering it to Ryker.

"It was fun to battle with you. It was pretty fucking fun!" he told Ryker.

Ryker shook Xeron's hand and nodded, letting Aurora off his lap before standing up.

"Likewise, I haven't sustained wounds like that in a while. Let alone using this form actually." he responded.

Xeron chuckled and ducked, narrowly avoiding a glass bottle from Aldira who was currently held back by Rick.

"Really? When was the last time?" Xeron asked, offering a small glass of water to Ryker who took it with a thanks.

"Well," he began, stealing a glance at Aurora, "it was about 7 years ago in Kanto and as for the details, I'll tell you next time." he explained, making Aurora blush as she noticed that he was referring to the time the Weather Trio knocked him off the cliff in order to spare her.

Xeron laughed again and cleared his throat, rubbing his neck a bit.

"Say, why don't you come on over to my granddaughter's birthday party in a couple of days? I'm sure you two as well as your other two companions will enjoy partying with us." Xeron offered.

"I'll go if it's ok with your son and his wife." Aurora replied, already getting a nod from the young Warlord.

They looked at Ryker who nodded as well, indicating he was coming along.

"Well it's settled! Meet us at my son's house tonight so we can hang out more." Xeron exclaimed, teleporting to who knows where with Aldira.

Rick chuckled and began to walk them back to their cars.

"Well, I guess it's time for me to take you two to your house."

Aurora looked at Ryker and gave him a questioning look as they neared the car.

"How are you going to drive? You're too tall unless you lean back in your seat."

Ryker thought about this for a moment before unlocking the car and getting in the passenger seat. He then handed the keys to Aurora who had confusion plastered all over her face.

"You drive then. That is, if you know how to." he told her as he gestured towards the driver's seat.

Aurora shook her head furiously but still sat down in the driver's seat. She offered the keys back to Ryker.

"I don't! Here, you drive." she panicked, earning a smile of amusement from Rick.

"Then let me teach you how to drive manual." Ryker replied with a small smirk.

He then guided her hand to the ignition and instructed her to turn the keys clockwise once inside. She did so and the engine came to life, making her surprised since she already forgot how silent it was.

"Now this is the gas pedal, that's the brake, that's the clutch which is important to manual cars in terms of shifting gears... "

Ryker went on and Aurora nodded in understanding, finding it easy to remember all the parts and controls of the car. She made sure to pay full attention, for he could note something crucial to driving. After about fifteen minutes or so, Ryker put on his seat belt, cueing for Aurora to do the same.

"Now, just follow Lord Aeruthael. Ease your foot on the pedal... "

 **A 30 min drive later...**

Aurora got out of the car, amazed that driving a car, a manual one to boot, was actually easier than expected. Ryker got out of the car as well, making a praising remark to her of which she responded to by hugging him for a quick second. They then saw Rick at the foot of a large house, surrounded by formidable fences and a large yard. Rick smiled before throwing Ryker the house keys and gestured to the house.

"This is where you four will be staying for the time you are here. I hope it meets your standards as well as your tastes."

Ryker half-nodded as Aurora went inside to explore the house.

"Of course it does though you didn't have to go out of your way to do this."

"It's alright. Really, it is. Besides, you gave my dad a run for his money and that's a rare feat. Plus, you are my honored guests and I wouldn't feel right if you two had to buy a house yourselves."

"Well, in any case, thank you, Lord Aeruthael for your generous favor."

Rick smiled again before leading Ryker inside to tour the house.

"No problem and you could just call me Rick. We're friends already, aren't we?"

Ryker nodded and gave a small chuckle before following Rick inside. As they explored, Ryker and Aurora found that the house was very spacious. The living room, complete with two sets of nice couches that doubled as futons as well as a table and a large television set, was large enough to fit around four Aggron. The kitchen was smaller but was still large. It featured an oven, stove, microwave, two counters, several cabinets and drawers, a nice sink and dishwasher, and a vent to clear smoke. The refrigerator dwarfed the size of most and the dinner table looked very expensive, the same could be said for the chairs and silverware. The house also had a large backyard that included a sparring ground, a nice lake with a waterfall (much to Aurora's liking), and a grand garden that already had several flowers and roses in bloom. The house had two rooms on the bottom floor, each master bedroom sized and equipped with a television set and a bathroom. The second story of the house, which had a spiral staircase, had two rooms as well identical to the rooms below. However, the top story rooms had balconies unlike the bottom floor. When they finished touring the house, Rick took a seat on one of the couches and folded his hands with a smile.

"So, what do you two think? Should I throw in a few more things?"

Aurora beamed and immediately shook her head to the ridiculous question.

"No! This is just fine, more than enough actually! Thank you for providing us with this housing."

Ryker smiled and bowed his head somewhat, his way of thanking the Warlord of Sanctuary. Rick smiled and scratched the back of his head with a small laugh.

"No problem! Now, as you already know-" Rick began but was interrupted as Ragna and Saphira stepped inside the house.

Ragna looked around with amazement and Saphira gave Rick a thankful look.

"Is this where we'll be staying for the time being?" Ragna asked to which Rick nodded.

Ragna then noticed Ryker who was yawning. He paled and his jaw hung a little.

Ragna looked like he was going to pass out.

 **A barrage of happy thank yous later..**

"Anyways, as you already know, my parents want you four to come over to my house and as you saw, my parents can be a little silly. But other than those two.." Rick began.

He then have them information on his old teammates as well as some information on Michael or "A" including his girlfriend, Green. He then told them about his recent recruits. Tsu Ling, a hacker and Nero, a born fighter, both of which have remarkable abilities for the average Gardevoir and Gallade. He then talked about a man dubbed "Project Zero", one who has incredible strength as well as psychic abilities. There were more recruits but the list was far too long to cover in a day so Rick decided to just give them the rest of the information mentally to save time. He looked at his poketch and found that it was already 5:30 p.m. He then got up from his seat and made his way to the door.

"I got to go now. I'll see you all at my house later then?" he asked to which he received nods in response.

Rick left and a sudden realization hit Ragna a moment later.

"Wait, do we know where he lives?" he asked with curiosity.

Ryker nodded and got up from his seat. He then looked out the window and Aurora already knew he planned to spar in a bit.

"I have his address marked in my car's G.P.S. We should be fine."

"Then when should we arrive later?"

"Let's go in an hour and a half."

"Fine by us."

For the next hour, Ragna and Saphira were watching some news as well as eating and Ryker was training with Aurora in the sparring grounds. He was teaching her some more hand-to-hand combat and also had a small jog towards the end of the session. In the remaining half-hour, they all showered and prepared to go to Rick's house. Ryker and Aurora decided to live in one of the rooms on the top floor for their likes for the balconies. Ragna and Saphira decided to live in one of the rooms on the bottom floor, since they didn't want to walk too far to the kitchen.

Aurora was standing in front of a mirror holding up two dresses, the one she got for her birthday and the one she wore for the party the other day. She then decided to ask Ryker who was in the shower, scrubbing his fur down and straightening the fur on his tail.

"I think you'd look equally great in both of them." he replied over the sound of water droplets.

Aurora smiled and randomly chose one, resulting in picking the one she wore at the party. She then took off her towel and hung it on a rung. She put on her panties and made sure the clip was secured on her bra strap. She then put on her dress, smiling and satisfied at the fact that it didn't have any wrinkles on it. She then noticed that she only had a few clothing to go out in so she made mental note to go shopping later. She then did her hair, making them straight and let them flow all the way down to above her rump. She then made sure her lips (Ryker taught her how to transform fully human so the only thing out of the ordinary was her beautiful pale skin) weren't dry or cracked before putting on her striking heels. A few moments later, Ryker walked out drying himself in his human form and in only boxers. He hung his towel next to Aurora's on the rung and smiled at her look.

"Like I said, beautiful no matter what." he remarked, making her smile and mentally note to get him back later, twofold.

She then waited for Ryker to get dressed, giving a surprised look as he donned a nice black suit and dress shoes. He then made sure his face was presentable, smiling as he noticed that he didn't miss a spot or made a mistake when he gave himself a small shave that complimented his looks. Aurora then noticed that he gave himself a haircut, making the back of his hair shorter and the sides as well. They were all spiked in random directions save for the hair on the front of his head which spiked upwards as well as some downwards past his eyes a little. He didn't wear his gloves but his black chain bracelet was apparent and his necklace seemed to shine darkly. He noticed Aurora looking at him and smiled, putting something in her hair before she could react. Aurora looked and saw a beautiful crystal rose that had the image of a small galaxy within it. She watched it in awe as the stars within the rose swirled and reacted to the way she moved her head.

"You like it? It'll never die or break or crack." Ryker asked, only to get engaged in a passionate kiss with Aurora.

They separated and Ryker smiled as he led her down the stairs, his answer obviously spoken through their earlier actions. They met up with Ragna, who wore a casual collared shirt and jeans and Saphira, who wore her white dress.

They followed Ryker to his car and got inside, Ragna and Saphira marveling at the inside of the car. Ryker drove them to Rick's house which had a noticeable grand garden in the backyard. He then parked on the sidewalk and together, they walked up to the front door. Ryker was about to knock but the door opened to reveal a smiling Rick as well as a young Kirlia by his side who hid behind him in fear.

"Glad you guys can make it! And I apologize for my cousin, Maiyu, she's shy and fears most humans." Rick announced as he held Maiyu's hand.

Ragna chuckled and waved it off, bending down on his knees to suddenly tickle Maiyu. She bursted into laughter and tried to get away but Ragna scooped her up and continued. When he stopped, Maiyu smiled widely and giggled as he set her down.

"I like them, Aeru. He's a fun man and the lady next to him seems nice. The other lady seems nice too." she remarked as she gestured to each of them.

She then noticed Ryker and made a confused face.

"I don't know about him though."

Ryker chuckled and gave her a Pikachu doll that he summoned out of nowhere. She immediately fell in love with it and thanked him.

"You see, I know how Kirlia are still developing their control over their psychic ability so I hid my aura from you so it won't overwhelm you." Ryker explained.

Maiyu nodded in understanding and giggled as she tugged on Ryker's arm and pulled him inside to play. Rick had his mouth agape as he led the rest of the group inside.

"How did he get her to like him so fast?"

"And WHERE did he get that Pikachu doll?" Ragna added.

Rick seated them at the living room and noticed that Ryker was apparently telling a story to Maiyu who was smiling but yawned as she began to fall asleep.

"Time for bed Maiyu." Rick said with a smile.

"Ok. Can you tell me another story next time, sir?" she asked.

Ryker smiled and nodded, making her cheer and giving both him and Rick a thumbs-up before teleporting to her room upstairs. Rick shook his head in wonder, smiling at Ryker whose expression returned back to the usual calm.

"I see she gets along with you?" Rick asked with a small chuckle.

"It seems so. She really likes stories though." Ryker replied before following Rick to the living room.

Ryker took a seat on a chair and saw that Xeron, Aldira, a large black wolf, a woman who had a similar aura to the wolf, a powerful Arceus-like being with wings and claws, and an unknown Gallade who was leaning against the wall, were already conversing with his companions.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Lord Fenrir. I'm Twilight, one of the souls within Shadowbane." the woman stated as she bowed her head.

Ryker responded similarly and wondered if his fangs would surprise them...which they did.

 _"Likewise, Madam Twilight. It is an honor to meet you especially after the battle with Lord Xeron._ " Ryker replied, impressing her with his eloquence and surprising the rest of them with the use of his language of the Fenrir.

She turned to Rick and smiled.

 _I like him already._ she told him before returning her attention to Ryker who was looking at the large wolf.

"I am Dusk, Twilight's counterpart in the sword. Like her, it's a pleasure to meet you, Alpha Lord of the Fenrir." he bellowed in a deep voice.

Ryker nodded and again spoke in his language of growls and snarls.

 _"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Sir Dusk. Like Madam Twilight, it's nice to see the two of you again and at least this time, formally introduced."_

"Wait, you met them before?" Rick asked, their curiosity piqued.

Ryker nodded and pointed up, indicating The Hall of Origins.

"Once before though it was during a ritual to seal a dangerous demon." he told them normally.

He then turned his attention to the large being who tipped his head a bit.

"I'm Thaleus, the being that resides within Rick. He is currently my vassal for the time being until my uncle, the current Lord Arceus, restores my body. I used to be one that would be considered to be a heartless demon known as Project Alpha but my mother guided me and with the help with all of them, I changed. Though you are able to see me now, I am just a mental projection from Aeruthael's head."

Ryker nodded and bowed, surprising Thaleus immensely.

"It's an honor to meet you, Lord Thaelus. Your father, the last Arceus in power, would, no, IS proud that he son had turned over a new leaf and started over to aid Lord Aeruthael and his allies." Ryker stated, making Thaelus smile for once in a while.

During the entire exchanged, the rest of them watched with interest, most wondering who would win in a battle. Ryker then noticed the unknown Gallade and walked up to him, extending a hand to the cloaked figure.

"Sir X, it's been a while." Ryker announced, once more surprising all of them.

X chuckled and took of his cloak, revealing an aged Gallade that greatly resembled Rick and Xeron.

"I heard you beat my son in a battle, Lord Fenrir. A great accomplishment indeed though I wonder if that's your limit." X replied with a chuckle, knowing that his statement was nowhere near correct. X looked at the group and gave them a smile. "His first test with Lady Arceus was to see if he could hold his own against me and for a teen, he did amazingly well and nearly incapacitated me in the process." he explained, clearing some things up a bit.

Ryker's ears then twitched about a second before a knock sounded from outside Rick's door. Rick went over to it and opened it, revealing a young man with a powerful aura and eyes that seemed to show that he had seen many things in his lifetime. He had red hair and the color of his eyes seemed to shift every now and then according to the gem of the pommel of his sword which was gripped firmly in his hand. A young lady, whose spirit seems to emit joy and happiness, was next to him. She had brown hair and amber yellow eyes. She waved at the group, smiling and they waved back. She then noticed that her companion seemed to be alert and blinked only to see him attack Ryker with deadly force. Ryker, however, saw the attack coming and blocked the slash with one of his swords, looking at the newcomer in the eyes and immediately recognized him as a Knight of Arceus.

"Michael! Step down! He's one of our allies!" Rick shouted, making Ryker's attacker back off with apprehension.

Michael, however, kept his sword pointed at Ryker who turned to face him, face serious and eyes stern.

"Then why do I feel a terrifying dark aura coming off of him? Are you sure he's on our side?" Michael questioned.

Michael then noticed Aurora getting in front of him, arms spread out in defense.

"He is our ally, Guardian of Pokémon. In fact, he's a Knight of Alph, someone who demands a great deal of respect from you like you give to other Knights of your circle." she announced, her words hitting home and compelled Michael to get on one knee.

"I'm sorry, Milady," he apologized as he recognized her from one of his meetings, "I was unaware of this and should not have attacked as I did."

Ryker walked passed Aurora and put away his sword, extending a hand to Michael.

"It's alright, Guardian, I actually get that often. My name is Ryker Fang though I take the name of Alpha around others. My position is being the Knight of Shadows and Dark Hellfire as well as being one of the Legendaries of the Council." he stated, shocking all of them save for the group who went with him.

Michael took a few steps back, mouth agape and stuttering as he tried to form words. Rick facepalmed and shook his head at Ryker's last statement.

"She didn't tell me that little bit." he muttered, referring to Jeanne.

Ryker then noticed the woman at the doorway and she saw this, quickly walking over and bowing her head.

"Hello, Mr. Fang. My name is Green, Michael's girlfriend. And like him, I've been revived by the last Lord Arceus to be here with him." she stated nervously.

Ryker nodded and sat down on a chair next to Aurora. He then scratched the back of his head, shaking it.

"No need to be afraid nor to be formal. I'm an ally of Warlord Aeruthael like you." he told the two.

Michael finally found his words and walked up to Ryker, extending his hand apologetically and sighed in relief as Ryker took it.

"I'm sorry for that. It's just that I've been traveling around the world, stopping crime syndicates, and staying alert to any form of danger for nearly a century. I see that we have more allies as well?" he announced as he saw Aurora, Ragna, and Saphira.

Later, the group conversed with each other. Rick's non-biological family came over as well and together, they exchanged stories about the past and current situations in the world. Rick talked about their alliances with a few cities of pokémon as well as some more information on active Projects of Team Rocket. He then told them about the successful elimination of Giovanni and some threatening admins, their issues shrinking little by little.

"Damn. I know there's a war between Kanto and Johto but hyptonic serums? This is the first I heard of this. How do you know this?" Michael, or A, he liked to be called.

Ryker and Aurora nodded, Ryker frowning and Aurora a bit downcast.

"We used to be part of the army, Special Forces to be exact. Our squadron relied on all tactics to complete the mission, each person specialising in a different tactic or specialty. For example, I specialized in mainly stealth and full on assault while Aurora specializes in support and weather attacks." Ryker explained, some of the others nodding in understanding.

Ryker suddenly stopped, spotting a Raltz by the staircase. It had a translator on its wrist and when it noticed Alara, it quickly ran over to her.

"Momma? Who are they?" the Raltz asked, eyeing the newcomers.

Alara smiled and lifted the Raltz into her arms.

"They are our friends, Sheerah. They're very nice people. Actually, what are you still doing up?" Alara responded with Rick looking amused.

"I had a nightmare so I couldn't go back to sleep." Sheerah replied, her voice as innocent as a newborn calf.

Alara cocked her head to the side curiously, looking at Sheerah with mild concern.

"What about your first-cousin (or once removed cousin)? Do you think you can sleep if you're in the same room with her?" Alara asked, referring to little Maiyu.

Immediately, Sheerah nodded enthusiastically, earning some chuckles from her relatives and parents. Alara got up and dismissed herself for the time being and carried Sheerah to the direction Maiyu's room. Xeron chuckled and gained the attention of the others.

"Can't believe the little tyke will be three years old in a couple of days. Time sure does fly fa-"

He stopped and looked at X, or the original Rick as the younger Rick explained, and narrowed his eyes.

"Dad, did you-?"

"No, I did not fast forward time for the umpteenth time, Xeron. Why would I do that anyways? I'm the Knight of Fate so I know what'll happen in the future." X replied, cutting him off.

Alara came back and took her seat next to Rick, rolling her eyes as Jean and Xeron began to play some Halo. Then, Rick looked at Ryker seriously and asked him a question mentally to avoid disturbing the mood of his family and guests.

 _When do you think Team Rocket is going to make their next move?_

Ryker nodded to Aldira, apparently multitasking and paying attention to her conversation as well as communicating with Rick.

 _I'd say, given the circumstances of their current situation...When did you take down Project Epsilon and Omicron again?_ Ryker replied.

 _Just two years back and they were the last of Team Rocket's Projects._

 _...They haven't done anything recently? Attacks? Threats? Snooping?_

 _No, they haven't done anything and it's actually started to make me worry. Not that I don't enjoy the peace we've been given of course._

 _They'll probably make their next move soon. I bet that the hyptonic was their main use of brainwashing pokémon but now that it has been taken out...I'd say soon. They're most likely planning something big though._ Ryker remarked.

 _I thought so too. I need to prepare some of my troops then just in case and send a letter of warning to all of my alliances._ Rick responded.

 _You might have to. However, don't dwell too much on it. You have us on your side as well as your family. You have some help from the Knights of Arceus as well._ Ryker told him, his ear twitching to a disturbing question that Aldira asked about him.

Rick nodded and leaned back in his chair, sighing while attempting to relax. He then thought about the birthday party for Sheerah and smiled, the thought successfully warming him and easing his tension. He then felt Alara's arm wrapped around him and hugged her back, giving her a peck on the forehead.

For the rest of the time, they conversed and some drank. Ryker was challenged by Jean to a drinking contest but Ryker turned it down saying that he had later plans whilst making sure Aurora wasn't within earshot. He was also asked by Amber, a Lopunny, to transform into his true form but he refused, telling them he'd rather not for his aura may overwhelm any nearby Gallade or Gardevoir with dark power. Xeron scoffed at this and taunted Ryker who again, refused and told them that when it's needed, he'll transform. They continued their night and when it hit 9 o'clock, Ryker told them he had to leave, saying goodbye and bringing Aurora with him, who was confused about the sudden situation. Ryker got in the car and so did Aurora, but she was still confused and tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

"Why are we leaving? Is it something important?" she asked with slight worry.

Ryker nodded and drove down the road, inputting several words into his phone and sending the message to Rick as well on keeping an eye out for incoming obstacles. After a few moments, he read the message and nodded to himself then returned his full attention to the road.

"Where are we going, Ryker?" Aurora asked, noting the numerous turns he made and their location on the holographic map.

Ryker then stopped and stepped out, walking around and escorting Aurora out. She was confused at this and followed him to a crowded building where he took her arm into his. They walked inside, noticing numerous tables as well as waiters and waitresses. One of the staff, an Alakazam, walked up to Ryker and smiled. Ryker noted that it seems every pokémon in Sanctuary he met so far had translators and thought that maybe it was widely distributed among them.

"Hello sir! You must be one of the Warlord's honored guests. And hello to you too, ma'am, you look striking if I do say so myself. Now, how are we this evening?" he asked.

"Fine, thank you. As you can see, we're here to have dinner and judging by the size of this building, are there balcony seats?" Ryker asked while Aurora was looking at him with surprise.

"Why yes, there is and we have several tables up there available. Would you like a seat there?"

"Yes please. Preferably one that isn't near any occupied tables."

"We can do that for you."

The Alakazam led them up a nicely decorated staircase, bringing them a couple of floors up before being seated onto a table. The Alakazam kindly asked them to wait so that he can send someone available to take their order. He left, leaving them alone save for a few pokémon at the other side of the building.

"Wait? Didn't I lose the bet?" Aurora asked, catching on and giving Ryker another confused look.

Ryker noticed that there were candles on the table and lit them, bathing their table in a soft glow. He then smiled and placed his hand upon Aurora's on the table.

"No, I lost remember?" he asked with a glint in his eyes.

Aurora smiled brightly and kissed him and together, they waited for someone to take their order whilst enjoying the view of the large city and its many lights.

 **Ryker "The Alpha" Fang, 25, Fenrir, Male.**

 **Aurora North, 25, Islingr Suicune, Female.**

 **Jeanne,?, Arceus, Female.**

 **Darko,?, Arceus, Male.**

 **Princess,?., Mew, Female.**

 **Mewtron,?, Mewtwo, Male.**

 **Ragna Bjartskular, 26, Knight of Alph, Male.**

 **Saphira Bjartskular, 26, Reshiram, Female.**

 **Aeruthael "Rick" Fenrir, 24, Gallade, Male.**

 **Alara Fenrir, 24, Gardevoir, Female.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Very sorry about the late update, guys. I just got out of an accident and got discharged today. Thank you for those who have been patiently waiting. On to the story!**

 **Note: I will no longer write what happened in previous chapters, getting lazy here.**

 _ **"**_ _ **Bloodstained paws beat the earthen path,**_

 _ **Surviving relics of the human wrath.**_

 _ **Ancient songs hit the night,**_

 _ **Grieving the loss of yet another fight.**_

 _ **The olden peace man forgot,**_

 _ **Hasn't yet been left to rot.**_

 _ **For in the soul of every wolf,**_

 _ **The memories shall not loaf.**_

 _ **Back before the words were learned,**_

 _ **The wolves had respect well earned.**_

 _ **They never took more then they should,**_

 _ **And helped whatever they could.**_

 _ **Man took it all,**_

 _ **And let them fall.**_

 _ **They destroyed the land,**_

 _ **And moved the sand.**_

 _ **The wolf watched from his den,**_

 _ **Trying to avoid the thieving men.**_

 _ **With all his heart and soul he knew,**_

 _ **That his greatest fear was true.**_

 _ **His world would die.**_

 _ **And however he'd try,**_

 _ **This he couldn't save,**_

 _ **No matter how much he gave.**_

 _ **Thus, he went into a rage,**_

 _ **Killed men and women no matter the age.**_

 _ **He snarled, growled, snapped, and tore,**_

 _ **The entire land lay demolished, covered with blood and gore.**_

 _ **It was only then that the wolf lost his identity,**_

 _ **Only for it to be regained thanks to a beautiful entity.**_

 _ **She was pure, her fur shining with brilliance,**_

 _ **It was to her that he showed resilience.**_

 _ **She comforted him and stayed near,**_

 _ **Making sure he wouldn't spread more fear.**_

 _ **As time went on and the male wolf changed,**_

 _ **The beautiful entity found it strange.**_

 _ **For they called him The Alpha in fear, below and above.**_

 _ **And yet, all she felt for him was love."**_

 **Chapter 15: The Ups and Downs of Life**

 **A month later...**

 **Ryker blinked and looked around, seeing nothing but a dark void. He tried to take a step forward but found that he could not move. He looked at himself and instead of a full grown adult, he was instead a child. He recognized this as his time before his family was slaughtered and shook his head, trying to clear his mind. He then found the source of his immobility which was a dark transparent chain wrapped around his body. He then saw a shadow and squinted to make out its owner only to be shocked as he saw his father, Shadowflame.**

 _ **"Hello, my son. I see you're a bit, hmm, should I say...caught up."**_ **his father stated.**

 _ **"Father?"**_ **Ryker asked in semi confusion and joy.**

 **Shadowflame's face turned into that of a disgusted expression and he growled at Ryker, spit escaping his maw.**

 _ **"Don't you dare call me that, monster! Did you think I would still consider you my son after what you done on Zenithean?!"**_

 **Ryker's eyes widened as his father scolded him, quickly becoming pale as he saw his mother, Midnight, materialize with a frown.**

 _ **"That's right. We would never call a demon, no, a HELLION that would make Satan nothing in comparison our son. All those people...you damned them all in your blind rage."**_

 _ **"But they killed you two! They even killed little Vul-!"**_ **Ryker retorted but was slapped hard by his mother as well as punched by his father.**

 _ **"Don't you dare say his name! You have no right to taint his name with your bloodstained self!"**_ **his father admonished.**

 **Ryker then shook his head, trying to get the dizziness out of him but that was futile since their assault did not let up. They continued to beat him, calling him monstrous names and berating him for what seemed to him like hours. At one point, Shadowflame summoned Ryker's sword and pointed it at Ryker's chest.**

 _ **"This sword and its twin shall be the bane of all existence, including yours."**_ **he said though strangely with an ethereal tone as if possessed.**

 **Shadowflame raised the sword and plunged it deep into Ryker's chest, where it bursted into flames as well as burning Ryker from the inside out. Ryker cried out in pain and looked at his parents who disappeared without another word. He then looked at the hilt of his sword, screaming as suddenly disappeared into his chest and out of his back.**

Ryker opened his eyes, his expression unreadable and emotionless. He got up from the bed slowly, careful not to disturb Aurora in her sleep. He then sat down onto a chair in front of a desk next to the bed and hid his face within his hands.

 _What the hell was that? I'm guessing it's a nightmare or the like. Maybe I should check if Lord Darkrai is around._ he thought to himself.

He ended up doing just that and found that his nightmare was natural and there was no one nearby with ill intentions. He then yawned and got back onto the bed, unusually extremely exhausted for some reason. He then smiled as he noticed the smile plastered on Aurora's face. She seemed to be having a good dream and he wondered what it was. However, he didn't think much about it and fell asleep soon after.

 **With Rick**

"Jean! Get your ass over here!" Rick exclaimed as he fired a rocket at a giant Ariados which didn't seem to be fazed.

"I got you, buddy!" Jean shouted as he ran inside the house.

He then noticed the giant Ariados and sweat-dropped, taking note of the destruction of the area.

"What the FUCK is that?!" he exclaimed.

"My dad placed steroids instead of poison again! Now get over here and help me kick this thing's ass!"

Jean nodded and gave the Ariados a **Bullet Punch** to the face, sending it crashing through the wall.

"Who's house is this?" Jean asked as he grabbed a grenade and threw it at the down spider.

"...Your parents'."

"..."

Jean suddenly screamed and began to cry, tears flowing down his face like waterfalls as an explosion went off due to the grenade. Rick then went over to Jean and patted the Blaziken's shoulder.

"You can survive it. I know you can." Rick told him, knowing that Jean's parents were probably going to blow a fuse.

He then noticed eight more giant Ariados circle them and cracked his neck. He then slapped Jean's face and summoned Shadowbane.

"Snap out of it, chicken. We got more."

Jean nodded and pulled out a Spas-12 shotgun seemingly out of nowhere. He then pointed it at the nearest Ariados as he put on his sunglasses.

"Hasta la vista, baby." he said in a deep, angered voice.

 **Back with Ryker and Aurora**

Aurora yawned as she woke up, smiling as she recalled the events of their dinner the night before. She then turned and saw Ryker sleeping next to her and smiled though with slight surprise. She placed her ear onto Ryker's chest and determined he was going to wake up soon. She also felt heat radiating from his body at a somewhat higher than normal temperature.

 _I guess he did his training and came back, maybe?_ she thought before getting off the bed and polished her teeth, smiling as she pulled out a mint leaf from her dimensional storage.

 _Thanks for the idea._ she thought with amusement as she went downstairs.

She walked passed Ragna and Saphira's room and judging by the lack of noise, she figured that they were either sleeping or out of the house. A quick mental scan of the area told her that it was the latter so it was just her and Ryker in the house. She then went into the kitchen and looked inside the refrigerator, finding a fresh carton of eggs, fruits and vegetables, oddly no meat, cartons of juice and bottles of tea, and more. She then smiled and pulled out the eggs, a tea bottle, potatoes, lettuce, cheese, and a butter stick. She then fished out a couple handfuls of berries and began to work. She turned on the stove and placed a non-stick pan onto it. Aurora then took an egg from the carton and cracked it, letting the yolk sizzle on the pan as she took a pair of chopsticks and began to stir it. She also began to cut open (cleaning it first obviously) potatoes as well as placing a small amount of butter with a layer of cheese on them before putting them on a tray in the oven with **Psychic**. Aurora also peeled the lettuce and placed the many leaves onto two plates. Then, she washed the berries and sliced them into fourths before placing them in random spots in the salad. She then placed a pot onto the oven and placed a couple of eggs into it after filling it with water. She read the label on the bottle of tea and found that it could be consumed both cold and hot so she decided to pour some into two cups before microwaving them.

By the time she finished, there was servings of scrambled eggs, baked potatoes with butter melted cheese, berry salad, and two cups of warm tea. She sat down on a chair, taking the tv remote and turning the flatscreen on. She flipped it to the news channel and turned around as she heard footsteps.

"Morning." Ryker said with a weary tone as she walked up to him and gave him a quick hug.

"Morning, love." she replied but noticed his tone and began to worry.

She led him to the living room and he took his seat in front of a plate with the aforementioned food. He gave her a questioning look and she simply smiled, taking a sip of the tea before they dug in.

"You sounded tired earlier. Didn't get any sleep?" Aurora asked.

"I did get some sleep actually. I guess though it wasn't enough. Thanks for the food by the way." he replied.

Aurora nodded and began to wonder about their future plans for the day and found that they didn't have anything to do. Ryker's phone went went off and he checked it, finding a message from Rick that seemed to be texted in a rush.

"We have today off. Looks like Aeruthael's busy." Ryker said before taking another bite out of the baked potato.

At this, Aurora got excited and already began to plan their day full of activities and the like.

"Looks like I should help him with whatever he's doing." Ryker added, making Aurora facepalm.

"If he needed help, he wouldn't have given us the day off." she countered.

"If that's the case, then I guess I could ask him for any assignments when he's done.

Aurora nearly smacked her head against the table, frustrated with the seemingly workaholic Fenrir. She then gave him a pointed look before taking another sip of her tea.

"You are way too stressed. I'd be surprised if you don't end up with white or gray hair in the future."

"We're immortal, remember?"

"Good point. Why don't you and I go shopping? We need to do some grocery shopping as well as some clothes shopping."

Ryker chuckled and finished the last of his breakfast, taking both his and her empty plates and cups to the sink to wash.

"Sure. Why not?" he replied, making her celebrate silently.

Later, they went to the grocery store and found that the place was nearly devoid of meat save for a small isle. This led them to the conclusion that most Gallade and Gardevoir are vegetarians. However, they figured that if the store didn't have enough meat, they'll just hunt for some later. Aurora was shocked though by the size of the grocery store and found that they even have some cooking appliances as well as some toiletries. When they finished, they ended up getting a bag full of fruits, some pastries, bagels, deli meat for the bagels, milk, some snacks like granola bars, and a box of ice cream. They also bought some rice, fresh shrimp, a king crab, rice paper, thin noodles, and some seaweed wrap. Their main source of meat will be from hunting later but they didn't mind at all.

When they placed the groceries into the trunk of Ryker's car, which was surprisingly spacious, they went to the nearest clothing shops. As Aurora browsed, she fawned over some of the dresses and skirts and some shirts as well. All the while, Ryker remained on a seat near the fitting room, in deep thought and oblivious to his surroundings. Aurora then suddenly got in front of him and in an outfit she picked out.

"What do you think?" she asked, snapping him back to attention.

She was wearing a plain tank top and with it, a modest black skirt and knee high socks. She was also wearing a thin hoodie over her shirt that was zipped up to her collarbone area.

"Looks great on you." Ryker replied with a smile, earning a small giggle from Aurora before she returned to the fitting room.

She then returned a few moments later donned in tight jeans and a blue t-shirt. Ryker nodded his reply and she left and returned, this time in a amethyst purple dress that came with arm sleeves.

"Isn't it nice?" she asked.

"Beautiful." Ryker replied making her blush immensely.

She then left but returned with a crestfallen expression. Ryker noticed this and became concerned.

"Is there something wrong?"

"They are way too expensive." she replied with a small laugh.

Ryker frowned and left, telling her to wait for him. A couple of minutes later, he returned with her outfits in a bag, the receipt hanging out of one of them.

"Thought you might want these." Ryker told her with a chuckle.

Aurora gave him a shocked look and remembered that he was as rich as Rick. She then hugged him tightly, thanking him and giving him a kiss.

"Aren't you shopping for clothes too?" Aurora asked him as they separated.

Ryker shook his head as he led her out of the store and to the car.

"I actually have some outfits in my storage. I don't need to buy more." he replied.

"Here. Let me drive. I saw someplace that we passed by and I think it'd be good for you." Aurora told him as she got in the driver's seat.

Ryker nodded and sat in the passenger seat, wondering where she was going to take them. She drove down the road, making sure she was going the speed limit. She then stopped in front of a building and led Ryker inside, immediately greeted by a Gardevoir.

"Hello, there. Welcome to our famous massage parlor! What would you like today?" the Gardevoir asked.

"A full massage for him please and a light one for me." Aurora answered, ignoring the look of refusal Ryker gave her.

"Right this way then." The Gardevoir told Ryker as she pulled him away.

Aurora smiled and followed another Gardevoir down the opposite hallway and wondered how things will end up with Ryker. Speaking of, Ryker was stripped down to his boxers and he was instructed by the Gardevoir to lay on his stomach on the platform. He did so and the Gardevoir began to make some observations on his body and tried not to drool over it.

"What in the world?! This is the most stress build-up I've ever seen!" she exclaimed.

"Is it that bad?" he asked, immediately given a "No duh" from the Gardevoir.

"Even a full massage wouldn't help. It's time for the big guns then." she replied as she rolled out her sleeves and elbowed a point on Ryker's back.

Much to her surprise, he didn't seem to be in any pain and figured that it was safe to go on.

 **With Aurora**

"What the hell?! That's not fair! K cups?" the Gardevoir whined as she eyed Aurora's chest.

Aurora blushed and covered her breasts in shyness. The Gardevoir smiled and walked up to her.

"Don't worry. There's nothing to be ashamed of especially of those remarkable boobs. I bet you got every male drooling over you."

Aurora then thought about the time she and Ryker were in the pond embracing each other. She giggled when she remembered how flustered he was when he saw her nude but then she blushed herself when she remembered seeing his manhood in the reflection of the water. She was also relieved that her breasts weren't too huge. They were proportional to her bodily so she was like a person of 5'8" with DD cups.

"Can you lay on your stomach, please?" the Gardevoir asked her.

Aurora dismissed her thoughts and nodded, laying down on the platform on her stomach. The Gardevoir, Nikki as her nametag read, began kneading Aurora's back.

"So, is he your mate?" Nikki asked.

Aurora blushed and shook her head, knowing full well who Nikki was referring to.

"No. We are a couple but we haven't taken it that far yet." Aurora replied.

"I see. You know, he looked pretty tensed earlier. Is he sick or something?"

Aurora thought about it for a moment to think before answering Nikki.

"No, but he was like this since this morning. I think he's just tired. He fought the Warlord's father yesterday so I think that's the reason why."

"No way! He fought Lord Xeron? How did it end up?"

"Xeron lost."

"...I think he needs more than a full massage."

They laughed and Aurora sensed a weird feeling coming from Ryker from the other side of the building.

 _Are you alright?_ his masseuse asked him.

 _...Peachy. Just peachy._ he replied with hidden sarcasm.

Aurora then wondered what was going on over there but dismissed it, knowing full well that Ryker wouldn't do anything stupid and that the Gardevoir massaging him wouldn't try anything.

 **About an hour later..**

"Phew! All done! I swear, I never seen a stressful case like yours." the Gardevoir remarked as she got off Ryker's back.

"It's all worth it when you're protecting those you care about." Ryker replied.

"Of course! Well, you can getup now and we'll go meet up with your lover."

"...I can't move my body."

"Ooooh...Well, then. Let me call them over."

Aurora and Nikki were finished and they walked over to where Ryker was and found him on the floor, struggling to get up.

"What happened?" Aurora asked as she helped him up.

"His body was so tense and he's been building up so much stress, it got to the point where he lost all of his motor skills and functions so now he can't move. He needed this massage A LONG TIME AGO." the Gardevoir replied.

"Wow. That actually makes sense." Aurora remarked with a laugh, ignoring Ryker's annoyed look.

Aurora and Ryker paid them up front and Aurora deposited Ryker in the passenger seat since he couldn't drive. She drove them back to the house, all the while teasing Ryker about his ordeal. When they reached the house, she helped him upstairs and laid him onto the bed.

"You're going to rest here for the next couple of days until you can move again." Aurora told him.

"I can't do that. I have to-"

"You will stay here." she said in a threatening tone.

"Of course."

Aurora smiled and laid down next to him. She then laid her head onto his chest, smiling as she felt him relax a bit. Ryker would wrap his arms around her but at the moment, he couldn't. They then talked about Sanctuary and its amazing condition and stability despite the fact that it has been around for decades. Ryker's phone then went off and he chuckled lightly.

"Do you mind getting that for me?" he asked her.

Aurora rolled her eyes with a smile and fished Ryker's phone out of his pocket. On the screen, Rick's number was shown and she answered it, putting the phone on speaker.

"Hello?" Ryker asked.

"Hey, buddy. Do you mind coming over to help me with something?" Rick asked through the phone, sounding slightly panicky.

Ryker sighed and looked at Aurora who barely contained her laughter.

"Actually, I would but I can't. I was at the massage parlor and when I was finished, I lost all sense of movement so now I'm here on the bed with Aurora with her handling the phone for me." he explained.

"...HAHAHA! That's hilarious! I swear that happened to us before but I can't remember who." Rick remarked.

"If you want, I can go over there and help out with whatever you need help with." Aurora told him.

Jean could be heard screaming in the background of the phone as well as the sound of hissing. An explosion then went off and Jean's laughter could be heard.

"...Yeah. I would like that please. Oh, and Ryker, I'll send Alara and the kids over to help you. I'm sure they wouldn't mind." Rick replied before he screamed and hung up.

Aurora sweat-dropped and Ryker noticed how he never got the chance to answer Rick's last statement. Aurora then got up from the bed and changed, Ryker unable to move or look away as well as forgetting the fact that he could close his eyes. Aurora got dressed in one of her outfits from earlier and made sure the hem of her t-shirt was at her waist.

"I'll be back soon." Aurora told him with a smile before leaving the area.

Ryker sighed and looked at the ceiling, remembering his nightmare from that morning. He then decided to analyze it, finding the dream a bit strange after a few minutes.

 _Let's see. Towards the end of the dream, their facial expressions were blank and they were calm as well as speaking monotone meaning that it wasn't a dream but a vision conjured up from my consciousness. In the beginning of the dream, they berated me and beat me, possibly telling me to prepare for danger perhaps. As for the last bit about my swords being the bane of all life probably means they shouldn't fall into the wrong hands, not that they could anyway. Still though, it doesn't make sense to me._

He continued to think about it until he heard the doorbell ring, its chime resonated throughout the whole house. He sensed that it was Alara, Maiyu, and Sheerah and mentally told them to teleport inside. A knock was soon heard outside his bedroom door.

"Come in!" Ryker announced to them from the bed.

Alara and the kids walked in and noticed his bedridden state. Alara whistled and sat at the foot of the bed.

"Wow. Rick wasn't kidding." she stated, earning a few giggles from her cousin and a look of confusion from her daughter.

"Indeed. I hope you don't mind doing this. I can handle myself around the house so if you want, you can return to your home."

Alara shook her head and smiled.

"Oh it's fine. Maiyu wanted to see you anyway."

Ryker looked at Maiyu who waved at him with a bright smile. Ryker smiled and returned and chuckled.

"Hello again, little one. Hello to you too, Sheerah." he told them as Maiyu made her way next to him onto the bed.

Sheerah cautiously made her way closer and she found that it was safe, sat next to Maiyu and fiddled with her once-removed cousin's hair.

"Can you tell me another story?" Maiyu immediately asked him, earning a smile of amusement from her mother and from Ryker.

Sheerah immediately snapped to attention, obviously interested and forgetting about Maiyu's hair. Ryker nodded and cleared his throat, Alara leaning in to listen as well.

"This story is a long one.

Once upon a time, there was a wolf, and this wolf was all alone. All of the other wolves had been caught or killed or driven off. But this last wolf, he stayed. And he did all of the usual wolfish things. He lived in a cave high up in the hills. He raided the occasional flock for a stray sheep.

He also would appear from time to time late in the evening on a trail from the fields running down to the village to frighten some milk maid or herds boy coming home a little too late from the watch. And this gave rise to the stories of great, gnarled, bloody teeth and wet, long, lolling tongue and fiery, red, hungry eyes... the wolf had quite a reputation in the village.

But that was not the worst of it. The most horrible thing of all, the thing that froze the souls of the old men, and caused the red faces of the young people to blanche, and the heads of the children to go deep under bed covers at night was what the wolf would do from time to time, in the cold crackling air of the frosty silver moon, high on the stark peak of the stoney mountain near the village. He would sit up there and howl, howl with the sound of a thousand midnights down in a murky bog. Those who heard it swore it was a sound that only a beast could make whose soul was tortured and lost forever. And it chilled to the marrow everyone who heard it... everyone, that is, except one person.

For living in the village was a boy who had lived there all of his life. And yet no one really knew this boy. I mean, he spoke to folks, and they spoke to him. But no one really understood him or cared to. Even his parents were at a loss to understand his ways and his thoughts. So they mostly humored him. And the boy would lie awake in his bed at night wondering about his life and why he felt so lost among the villagers. And sometimes he would cry or sometimes he would be angry. But when he heard the call of the wolf on the mountain, right away he knew that here was a voice the like of which he'd not heard before. Here was a voice that spoke to him of feelings no one else knew that he had. And lying there and listening with every fiber of his body, he knew he had to seek out this wolf and know from it why it cried in the night. Oh, he'd heard the stories of the teeth, the tongue, the eyes so red and burning, but nothing would do except that he had to know that wolf for himself.

And so one day, before the sun rose, he set out on the road to the mountain where it was said the wolf made his den. It was a long road and a steep one, but the boy took no stick, nor wore no hat to guard him from the sun. And it was a dangerous journey to be sure, but the boy took no weapon to defend himself. And though the country was barren and rocky and not fruitful where he was going, the boy took no food nor drink to sustain him. And though he'd never been on this way before, he followed no map, but went the way of his heart, come what may. It was sometime at the end of a day's travel that he began to grow thirsty and the emptiness inside him began to make itself known in his stomach. He walked, becoming even more thirsty until darkness overcame him and he was forced to stop for the night in some trees near the road. And as he sat hungry and thirsty in the growing darkness, he thought for a moment about turning back and rushing blindly down the path and back to the village. But he knew that was not the way for him. So he sat for a long while shivering in the night and then lay down finally to sleep. In his dreams, the moon shone silver on the frosty stones, the air was clear and crisp, and the voice of the wolf rang out from the top of one of the peaks, calling out the way ahead, perhaps his way. He awoke in the dawn with a start, wondering if the dream had been real, and the wolf had actually called in the night.

He rose, still hungry, and continued on his way. Soon the path grew steeper and rockier. As the sun was moving high and the day was warming, the boy noticed ahead of him a flock of birds swooping and playing in a small pool beside the road.

The boy rushed to the water, fell on his belly and drank his fill. When he rose, the birds were watching him silently from a nearby tree limb. Realizing he had interrupted their play, he smiled and thanked them for letting him drink and continued on the path. Though his thirst was slaked, still an emptiness was burning deep in his belly. And as he walked, once again thoughts came to him of quitting, of just sitting down under a tree to wait for whatever might happen. And what if he never got up again? Would anyone miss him or come to find him? But something told him this was not the end of his journey. If he did not continue he would never know what was at the end of the path or why the wolf cried so in the night. And so he decided to continue walking knowing not what lay ahead of him.

You can imagine how relieved he was after several minutes to see beside the path a clump of bushes that were heavy and inviting with red, juicy berries. He rushed to them and began to pick and eat the sweet, ripe berries. But then he heard a noise. And looking up, he came face to face with a very large and hairy bear. The bear was only a few feet away in the bushes himself eating the tasty berries, The boy realized that those large arms were entirely capable of reaching out to catch at him and crush the life out of him. And so he did not move, but stood with the berries still sweet on his tongue, his lips red with juice, his cheeks now white with fright.

But the bear only stared and waited too... for a moment. And then the long white teeth showed in his fuzzy face, and one massive set of claws moved... and he began to pick and munch more of the ripe berries. The boy, realizing that the bear was hungry only for berries, smiled and began to breathe again, and went back to eating as well. After several minutes of filling himself, the boy was ready to move along, and, smiling and waving to his friend, he left the bushes and continued on the path.

A way up the path the boy noticed it was becoming steeper and so much harder to travel. And he was beginning to wonder when or how or if he would ever see his wolf and meet his wolf and know his wolf and be able to answer the strange desire he held within him to feel what the wolf felt deep in the night. Suddenly he heard a noise;

A stone tumbled; and the clatter echoed as the boy froze on the trail. His eyes darted left and right, looking for the source of the movement when something large moved and leaped into the path. His heart stopped, then began to beat again as he saw the visitor clearly. It wasn't the wolf at all, but a small deer, a yearling, a young male whose nubbish horns were just beginning to show on the top of his head. The two of them stared at one another for a moment, curious, fearless, silent.

The deer gazed at the boy wide-eyed. The boy gazed back, and suddenly he was concerned that the young fellow might be in danger. And he spoke quietly to the young deer.

"Oh, do be careful here. There's a bear down the path a way. And a wolf about, I think. I'm searching for that wolf myself, but you? I don't think you are ready to meet him."

The deer stared back in wonder and listening." Be careful, little man. Up here all alone and so friendly. Be wary of those who would hurt you."

And with that the boy walked on slowly toward the deer who started and scampered away into the rocks. The boy walked smiling to himself as he thought of the deer now safely hidden in the rocks. Hiding until he grew strong and large enough to defend himself against a bear or a wolf.

As he was thinking of this, he noticed the darkening sky and the cold chill of the deepening night air as it gathered about him. He continued along the bare path, trying not too look too far to left or right, trying to keep his footing, wondering if he had been wise in coming here, if he had been right in seeking the wolf in such a lonely and desolate place. He was growing more unsure of each step as he moved carefully and slowly up the path. When suddenly... he saw something... no felt something ahead. It might have been nothing. It might have been a shadow crossing the moon. It might have been everything he sought.

His heart beat faster. His head grew light, but his eyes stayed sharp as he stared ahead of him up the trail. He waited quietly for another sign, and soon came his reward as the shadows moved up ahead and became living and breathing flesh. There on four paws, eyes reflecting his own bright gaze, head still as stone and pointing down the trail toward him, was the wolf.

He could not move. The red eyes, the great tongue, the huge claws flashed in his memory. But as he stared, he saw none of them. He could also recall the song that had drawn him here, the singer from the distant night, now only yards from him, breathing in the cold night, and exhaling hot steam.

And as he stood, peering into the wild eyes before him, remembering that sad, sweet song, he felt his heart soften and his fear evaporate. His eyes filled and, without warning, he knew why he had come here. He knew in that instant what he had traveled to find, what he had heard in that song, what he had embraced in his lonely bed as he had lain awake, listening and wanting. He knew that the song had been a cry for an end to solitude. The cry was to banish aloneness. It had reached out across the miles and the years and touched him. And it had guided him. He knew this now.

And so with his heart full and his eyes afire with understanding, the boy faced the wolf and he spoke back... with his smile. And in that instant, the two... boy and wolf... were one heart.

It is said the boy never returned to the life he had known in the village. No one there could really be sure of his fate. No one would ever go looking. But there is one tale, told by a brave hunter who became lost after chasing a large deer up the mountain one day. When he returned, he told a wild and unbelievable story of seeing a boy and a wolf through the trees, lying asleep together under a tree some distance away. But as he made his way thrashing and crashing through the forest to where he thought he would rescue the lad, he became lost, and could no longer see nor find them. And so he returned to his safe villager's life, speaking in hushed tones of his brief glimpse of another life he could never understand. And as the people listened to his story told over and over again until the words were worn, and as the long years passed, some who listened would laugh, some would weep quietly, a few would cross themselves in disgust, and, once and again, some few would take heart and lie awake at night listening with hope to the strange and wolfish duet, sung high upon a distant peak in the silver moonlight."

Ryker stopped narrating and saw that Maiyu was beginning to drift off, Sheerah already passed out and sleeping on her cousin's lap.

"That was a really good story." Maiyu muttered before falling asleep as well with a smile.

Alara smiled and picked up both of her kids, setting them on the bed in the room across from them. Alara closed the door and returned to Ryker with a look of surprise.

"You're really good with children. You'd make a good father one day." she remarked.

Ryker chuckled and he used his pyschic powers to allow himself to sit up against the bed frame.

"So I've been told. Anyways, do you have any idea how to reverse or quicken my recovery from this temporary immobility?" he asked her.

"Hm... I have a drink that will boost recovery rate but I don't know any way to reverse your condition completely. Hold on."

Alara teleported elsewhere and came back with a vital of purple liquid. She hovered it near Ryker's mouth and motioned for him to open his mouth. He did so and she poured the whole vial in, also noting his canines.

"Thank you. I'd like to get back to training and helping you and your husband as soon as I can." Ryker told her in a thankful tone.

"I can see why you needed that massage." Alara replied with a laugh. She then put away the vial and suddenly, an idea came to mind. "You know, you can train with me. You are a swordsman, right?" she told him.

"Yes, but how could I at the moment? And train with you?"

"I actually need to brush up on my skills. Haven't been sent to battle lately and this can benefit can both of us. As for how, we can link together mentally and create a landscape where we can train without fear of being injured or dying. You'll be able to move and and such but I don't think training in this mental plane with affect you physically. Rick and I actually did it a lot of times before I had Sheerah."

Ryker nodded in understanding, finding it similar to his training back before the abandoned island was destroyed by Deoxys. He then smiled and nodded once more, his head apparently the only part of his body that can move.

"Sure. Let's go for it." he told her.

Alara smiled and leaned forward, their foreheads touching as a result. Ryker blinked and next thing he knew, he was on a grassy field with Alara standing opposite of him with a strange sword drawn.

"Ready?" Alara asked him with a smirk.

Ryker summoned one of his swords and took a neutral stance, throwing her off by repeatedly switching his sword style from backhanded to normal. He smiled and cracked his neck.

"Ready." he told her and they clashed.

 **An hour later...**

"I never want to see a spinneret up close like that again." Rick complained as he picked off a web strand as he and Aurora entered the house.

"I really don't know how your dad mixed up the steroids and the poison for those things." Aurora added with a laugh to which Rick responded with a chuckle.

Rick followed Aurora up the stairs and to the bedroom where they found Ryker and Alara frozen with their eyes glowing pink.

"Uh, what's wrong with them?" Aurora asked as she poked Ryker but got no response.

 **With Ryker and Alara**

Ryker was suddenly shoved by an unknown force and he was barely able to maintain his balance.

"What the hell?" he muttered before getting crushed by a boulder thrown by Alara.

"Keep your head in the fight!" she yelled only to have the boulder thrown back at her.

 **Back with Aurora and Rick**

"So they're playing a mental game?" Aurora asked Rick as she sat on the side of the bed.

Rick leaned against the wall and nodded, a small smile finding its way into his face.

"Uhm. Alara and I used to do it all the time before we had Sheerah. We did all sorts of things like playing boardgames, horseback riding, training, and things like that. It all feels real in the psychic link but it won't affect them in reality."

Aurora nodded and looked back at the frozen two who suddenly started to blink repeatedly. Alara was first to recover and shook her head furiously. Ryker was next and he simply yawned, leaning back on the bedframe.

"That wasn't fair. You can't throw a boulder back at the person who threw it at you first." Alara complained as she got off the bed.

"I'm pretty sure I can do that. Besides, we were supposed to be training with swords but you just upped and threw that boulder out of the blue." Ryker retorted with the chuckle before turning his attention to Aurora and Rick.

"We're back, dear." Aurora told him before giving him a quick hug.

Ryker chuckled and kissed her on the cheek, Rick doing the same to his mate at the doorway.

"Where are the kids?" Rick asked them.

"Ryker put them to sleep with a story. I laid them to bed in that room over there." Alara responded as she led Rick to the two.

Aurora looked at Ryker with a cocked eyebrow.

"You told a story again?" she asked with a smirk.

"They really seem to enjoy them so yes, they asked and I did so." Ryker replied.

Rick and Alara returned with the two children, both awake with smiles.

"Hi Miss Aurora!" Maiyu announced before launching herself at the surprised Islingr Suicune.

Aurora caught her and began attacking her with a barrage of tickling, making Maiyu cry out in laughter. However, Aurora stopped when she heard the little Kirlia's stomach growl ferociously.

"Hungry, huh?" Aurora asked as Maiyu blushed.

Aurora turned to Rick and Alara and smiled.

"Why don't you stay for lunch? We just got groceries and I was going to prepare a meal anyways." she told them.

"Can we?" Sheerah asked as she tugged on her mother's dress.

Rick and Alara looked at each other before nodding and returning their attention back to Ryker and Aurora.

"Sure, if that's alright with you two of course." Rick replied.

"Of course it is! We don't mind right, Ryker?" Aurora told them as she looked at Ryker who smiled and nodded his head.

Ryker suddenly felt his control over his body returning and stood up, surprising all of them.

"Looks like that medicine worked a lot better than we thought it would. Thanks, Lady Alara." Ryker told Alara.

"No problem but I really didn't expected you to be up and running so fast like that." she replied in kind.

Ryker stretched his body, testing his arms and legs before walking downstairs and back up. Satisfied, he looked at Aurora and offered a hand to her.

"I'll help you cook, love. I feel a lot better now." he told her.

Aurora smiled and took his hand before following him downstairs to the kitchen. Rick, Alara, and the kids followed and satin the living room patiently, watching a bit of tv and listening to interesting things in the news.

As Ryker and Aurora were preparing food, Maiyu sat on the kitchen counter next to Ryker who was preparing the king crab which proved to be easy despite the fact that it was still alive. As he popped open the shell, Maiyu took out a small notepad and pencil.

"Can you participate in a survey for me? It's part of my homework." Maiyu asked him.

Ryker nodded as he scraped out all the intended organs and insides of the crab and began to pick out the meat of it. Really, they could of had beef instead or chicken but given that their guests were vegetarians, they settled with crab.

"What is your favorite color?" Maiyu asked.

"Black."

"How old are you?"

"Turning 26 soon."

"What is your favorite food?"

"I like eating raw deer."

"...What is your favorite thing to do?"

"Training on my free time and spending time with Aurora."

"If you could be anything in the world, what would you be?"

Ryker thought about this for a few moments, flashes of his past ran through his mind. Past battles and the immeasurable amount of bloodshed...

"I can't answer that, little one. All I know is that I'm who I am and I find it lucky that I have the power to protect those I care about." he finally replied.

Maiyu smiled and scribbled his statement down. She then pulled out a large piece of paper and began doodling, drawing sceneries of Sanctuary and the many inhabitants.

"Can you draw, umm-"

"Ryker is fine, Maiyu. As for your question, yes, I can though I haven't for a while. That, and reading, one of my, shall we say, normal hobbies." Ryker told her.

"Well can you draw for me?" Maiyu asked him, excited for his reply.

Ryker washed his hands and petted Maiyu on her head with a chuckle.

"When I get the chance." he told her, earning a cheer from her.

Ryker then proceeded to slice the collected crab meat into strings and at the same time, Aurora was cooking the shrimp and boiling the noodles.

"Can I help?" Maiyu asked them.

Aurora smiled and handed her a medium-sized bowl.

"Can you fill that with hot water, Maiyu?"

"Of course I can!" Maiyu replied as she went to the sink and filled the bowl with hot water.

 _Good thing it's purified water. If anything, I'd purify it myself._ Aurora thought to herself with a smile.

Maiyu returned with the bowl of hot water and Aurora directed her to place it on the kitchen together. Then, Sheerah wanted to help as well so Aurora gave her the task to place napkins at different spots at the table as well as, along with Maiyu, placing the silverware on the table. Ryker, however, made sure they didn't grab any knives or anything that could possibly harm them. Finally, Aurora placed all the shrimp in a bowl and the noodles in another. Ryker placed all the stringed crab meat and placed them in a bowl as well, warming them with his hands but not so much to prevent melting the bowl. Aurora took out a bag of rice papers and placed them on the center of the table, at the same time, calling Rick and Alara over to eat.

Ragna and Saphira suddenly walked inside the house and they seemed really happy for some reason.

"Hey, guys! We were busy at the lake the whole day!" Ragna announced.

Saphira noticed the food and smiled.

"Making lunch? May we join?" she asked.

Aurora smiled and pulled up two more seats. Maiyu immediately placed more silverware at the spots, receiving thank yous from Ragna and Saphira.

"I hope you all know how to make your spring rolls!" Aurora announced as she grabbed a rice paper and dipped it in the bowl of hot water.

They ate together happily though Ryker had to teach Maiyu how to make a spring roll. It took a few tries, but eventually she was able to do it on her own. She still needed someone to help her wrap it though. At one point, subconsciously muttered the steps out loud.

"First, dip the rice paper in the water. Then, lay it across the plate. Put a small handful of noodles in the center. Then lettuce. Then add some shrimp. Then some stringed crab. And now roll it into a cylinder aaaaand fold the sides inwards."

She smiled and looked at her perfectly formed spring roll. She then blushed when everyone smiled at her and praised her for her skills. Even Sheerah cheered for the accomplishment.

"So, what did we do today?" Ragna asked at one point.

"Clothes shopping and massage parlor. I also helped Rick with a spider problem." Aurora told him.

"Taught Sheerah some math." Alara added.

They looked at Ryker and Rick who pretended not to notice. They then felt the intensity of their stares and finally responded.

"I rather not talk about it." they both replied simultaneously, Ryker thinking about his earlier immobility and Rick thinking about when he got sprayed by an Ariados...point blank from the spinneret.

Later, Ryker ended up finishing his food first and washed his plate. He then went upstairs and found pencils and printer paper in a drawer. He then began to draw Maiyu's picture with ease, the image already nearly finished on the paper. He decided to draw Sheerah a picture too and drew her one. He then went back downstairs where everyone was sitting in the living room relaxing. He found Maiyu and Sheerah sitting on Alara's lap and walked up to them.

"Here's your pictures." he told them with a smile as he handed them their pictures.

Maiyu gasped as she saw an image of her soaring through the sky with angel-like wings. The sun was shining in the corner of the picture and the clouds were beneath her. Sheerah loved her picture too, seeing herself with her mother and father sleeping on the bed. Alara and Rick were shocked at the perfect details in each picture and looked at Ryker incredulously.

"Photographic memory and a wide expanse of imagination, I used to draw a lot as a child." he told them as he took a seat.

"You need to draw me a picture too." Ragna added as he looked at the masterpieces with Saphira nodding furiously in agreement.

Aurora looked at Ryker who chuckled and sighed contentedly.

"When the time is right." he told them as he redirected his attention to the news channel.

The afternoon was delightful. Everyone there conversed about different interesting things such as the history of Sanctuary and the like. Ryker suddenly got up and headed towards the door, earning curious looks from the group.

"Where are you going?" Aurora asked, cocking her head.

"I'm going for a little walk. I'll be back in a bit." he replied, Maiyu and Sheerah immediately ran up next to him.

"Can we go with you, please?" Maiyu asked, little Sheerah nodding in agreement.

Ryker looked at Rick and Alara for approval. The two psychics nodded with smiles and Ryker led the children out the door.

"We'll be back soon and don't worry, I'll keep them safe." Ryker told them before closing the door.

He led the children down the street and began to think to himself as well as making sure the children were by his side. Maiyu was skipping happily with Sheerah on her back, the Raltz laughing gleefully.

"Ryker? Where are we going?" Maiyu asked.

"Nowhere specific though if you want, we can go somewhere of your choosing. As long as we get back to the house before dark, of course." Ryker replied.

Maiyu nodded and continued to skip happily alongside Ryker. Another few minutes of this and their ears were filled with the wails of a crying Gardevoir. She was on her knees, crying a river and punching the ground beneath her. Next to her was a Gallade in a red uniform who was helping other Gallade and Gardevoir that were covered with soot. That's not all though. In front of them was what seemed to be a hotel... which was burning furiously. Ryker immediately heard some sort of crying within the house and put two and two together and instructed Maiyu and Sheerah to stay put as he walked up to the scene.

"My baby!" the Gardevoir wailed as one of the firefighting Gallade escorted her away from the burning hotel.

Ryker looked up and his ears twitched multiple times. He then found that the her child was somewhere on the seventh of nine floors of the burning hotel and located an open window on that same floor. He rushed passed that group despite their protests and to the building. He surprised all of them by actually running UP the wall, grabbing poles that stuck out and swinging himself up to the next. He also dodged falling flaming debris at the same time as he neared his destination. He reached the opened window and entered the hotel, sniffing around for the mother's child. A moment later, he darted across the hallway, finding a room that was opened and filled with smoke. He went inside, spotting a cradle with a crying Raltz within. He picked the infant up, calming it with his soothing mental intent, then he immediately left the room.

 **Maiyu and Sheerah**

"Hurry, Ryker. Please be alright!" Maiyu muttered to herself as she hugged Sheerah who was crying due to the situation.

A Gallade walked by talking to another Gallade, both in a serious conversation.

"Whoever else is in there won't make it if they stay there any longer. Each floor has an extremely flammable propane pipe for the stoves in the rooms and at this rate, they will explode soon." one of them informed.

Maiyu instantly paled and tried to locate Ryker's mental signature. She found him with a relieved sigh and relayed the information to him.

 **With Ryker**

Ryker ducked and went under a burning beam in the hallway. His entryway was blocked off with burning debris and he didn't want to endanger the Raltz in any way. He considered teleporting or opening a portal but quickly dismissed the ideas, remembering his dark aura could stunt the Raltz's psychic growth.

 _Ryker! Hurry! The hotel will explode soon!_ Maiyu warned him, surprising him for a second.

 _Thank you for the warning._ he relayed back to her as he turned a corner.

He then found what she was talking about, noticing a pipeline that seemed to swell a bit due to the heat. He immediately went back the way he came, trying to find any means of exit. He couldn't find another window or fire escape so he took a deep breath and covered the Raltz in a protective manner. He then ran and tackled a wall, bursting through it easily as the whole floor exploded, blowing debris in his direction. Ryker quickly maneuvered himself onto a piece of the wall in the air and proceeded to jump and land on other falling debris, performing flips and making sure the Raltz was safe at the same time. He then landed safely on the street floor, amazing all onlookers. The crying Gardevoir ran up to him and immediately thank Ryker as he presented the Raltz to her.

"Thank you so much, kind man! Thank you! Bless you!" she told him repeatedly as she embraced her child who giggled at the sight of her mother's happiness.

Ryker nodded and walked back to Maiyu and Sheerah, both staring with gaping mouths as he did. A Gallade in a firefighting uniform rushed up to Ryker, patting him on the back to which Ryker responded with a small but unnoticeable growl.

"Great job there! How you saved that Raltz was amazing! You're a hero, son!" the Gallade praised.

Ryker walked away, with Maiyu and Sheerah following closely. He shook his head and muttered to himself quietly as they left the scene.

"Far from it." he muttered grimly as he thought about the past.

They returned to the house about an hour later, finding the group sleeping in the living room. Aurora wasn't present so Ryker figured she was in their room. Maiyu and Sheerah went up to Rick and Alarm and psychically nudged them awake gently.

"Ah! You're back." Rick said with a smile as Alara yawned.

"How was the walk?" she asked, earning enthusiastic nods from the two children.

"Really exciting, Mamma!" Sheerah replied as Maiyu got onto Rick's lap.

This woke Ragna and Saphira, both on the couch across the two.

"What's all the commotion?" Ragna asked with a joking smile.

Maiyu immediately sent them all her memory of seeing Ryker saving the Raltz from the burning hotel. Ragna mouthed "no way" and Rick nearly fell out of his seat.

"Jeez, Ryker! All that in a single walk? Nice!" Rick told Ryker who was currently walking up the stairs.

Alara and Saphira were speechless and Ragna continued shaking his head in disbelief. Ryker stopped on a step of the stairs and looked at Rick and Alara with a calm expression.

"I advise you to rethink the design of all of the remaining hotels of the city. flammable propane pipes running through the structure of a whole hotel building doesn't seem to be a good idea. That's my opinion, of course." he told them before walking up the remaining stairs.

Ryker went inside his room, finding Aurora sleeping peacefully on the bed in her anthro form. He smiled at the sight and went inside the bathroom, undressing before he turned on the shower. He stood there, unfazed by the very cold temperature of the water as he thought about all the things he had done in life, both good and bad. He then clenched his fists in anger and frustration, regretting losing control and laying waste to the land of Zenith. He then exhaled deeply, telling himself that there was no way he could reverse. Sure, he didn't care much for the humans in the world but that doesn't mean he couldn't feel guilt. He was so absorbed in his thoughts, he didn't notice Aurora walking inside the bathroom in her human form with a worried expression. She woke up after sensing his grim aura from the bathroom and decided to check up on him.

"Ryker? Are you alright?" she asked him, her words laced with concern.

Ryker didn't seem to hear her and remained silent. She frowned and undressed, opening the screen and joining him in the shower. She looked at his face and noticed he had a lost look, somewhat more of a thousand yard stare.

"Someone called me a hero today." he suddenly told her, making her slightly jump in surprise. He then embraced her, his head hanging low on her shoulder. "I don't deserve to be called that. To be even considered that." he told her.

Aurora was surprised at this, having no idea what he was talking about. She then broke the hug, looking him straight in the eyes and turning serious.

"That's nonsense. In all the years I've known you, you saved me multiple times, four times to be exact, saved Aniu's pack and prevented war, took down Lich and ended the production of hyptonic, and from the mental memory Maiyu sent me while I was asleep, saved a Raltz from a burning building. You thinking that you're not a hero is ridiculous." she told him sternly.

Ryker hung his head even lower, staring at his hands that had taken away the life of many. He then wondered how his parents must think of him.

"I don't deserve to be part of the Legendary Council. I should be put to Judgement. I don't deserve to have any friends or allies and I also feel like I don't deserve to be in a relationship with you." he said in a whisper.

He then recoiled as he felt a hard slap to the face, rubbing his cheek as he registered the burning stinging sensation that was presented. He looked at Aurora who looked angry but also had tears in her face. She slapped him again only this time, embracing him immediately afterwards.

"Don't you ever say that again, Ryker! You risked your life countless times for me and many others."

"I took the lives of many people." he retorted.

"You became a role model for the children. They look up to you."

"People think of me as "The Alpha" or simply a monster." Ryker countered again.

"You have friends who love you, family too!"

"I made many enemies and took the lives of those who HAD a family."

Aurora looked at him, her eyes red and still teary and her mouth still in an angry expression.

"Ryker! Open your eyes! I love you and many others do too! Imagine how Balto and the rest of them would feel if you just suddenly severed ties with them. Imagine how I'D feel I'd you just got up and left. Your good deeds outweigh the bad ones, which I may add, were either necessary or wasn't entirely your fault. As for you not deserving to be with me.. "

Aurora looked at him with a fiery passion. Her eyes allowed several more tears to fall and she looked like she might break down at that very moment.

"I love you, Ryker! You're a caring person with a strong personality. Your social skills may be lacking but that's all the more reason I should stay and help you with. I feel safe around you, Ryker. I always get a warm feeling within me whenever you're near. If you were to go... I wouldn't be able to handle it. I'd die without you, Ryker. So please, don't go. I'm your light in your darkness, right? Then don't think of yourself as a monster. Instead, think of yourself as my wild Knight in shining armor. My lover. My everything." she told him with finality as she hugged him again.

Ryker was silent, surprised and somewhat happy at the same time that she had so much faith in him. He nodded, telling her that he acknowledged all she had told him. He then froze, finally registering the fact that she was in the shower with him... naked as well. He became flustered and tried to speak to apologize for not looking away.

"Aurora! I-I. Y-you! S-sor-!" he stuttered, amusing Aurora with one of his very rare moments of nervousness and being anything other than calm.

Aurora giggled, knowing exactly why he was flustered. She teased him even further by tightening their hug, pressing her breasts against his chest and making him extremely red and speechless. Aurora gave him a smile, her tears subsiding and her smile instantly warming Ryker to the core.

"You'd think that you'd be used to this by now." she told him with a giggle, Ryker finally regaining his composure and shaking his head with a chuckle.

He then leaned close to her ear, playfully nibbling it gently. Aurora loved this loving side of him. Where he actually smiles and jokes and discards all traces of seriousness. She loved his other side too, protective, brave, even the serious side of him. Speaking of jokes..

"If we didn't have guests, let's just say that this would've been the greatest and most pleasurable night you would ever have." he said in a low but charming voice.

Aurora blushed immensely, knowing that he was only joking in revenge but still super flustered. Ryker chuckled and hugged her, kissing her on the lips and gently raking his fingers through her luscious mane. Aurora playfully punched his chest and cuddled with him, completely forgetting about their visitors downstairs.

"Ryker?" she suddenly asked him as they got dressed into their clothes, Ryker wearing a simple t-shirt with jeans and Aurora wearing her other outfit that she had bought.

"Yes?" he replied as he studied his large scar that he received after the fight with Deoxys.

She noticed this and frowned, deciding to ask him about it later.

"Do you regret becoming Lady Arceus' ally?" she asked him out of the blue.

Ryker took a moment to reply, scanning over the numerous scars that marked his body. None of which came close to being as bad as the one that ran from his left temple to his chest.

"Not at all. If I didn't, I probably would've been at Mt. Moon, a dead carcass due to simply giving up. She gave me a chance to redeem myself and I'm not sure if I had. But as I said before, I don't regret it." he answered, surprising her.

"Giving up?" she asked.

"*sigh* This was a little after I met Balto and the others. At the time, I wasn't that close to any of them. I was still sore from my family's death and I considered to just lay there in the cave and rot away, starving myself and the like. It only took me a couple of days to realize what I was doing was extremely ridiculous and I decided to live on."

Aurora nodded, surprised that he would even consider to just give up. She couldn't imagine it actually.

"Well me and along with many others are glad you didn't." she responded to him, earning a small smile.

They went downstairs to see Rick, Alara, and the kids leaving. The four psychic pokémon waved goodbye as they walked out of the door.

"Meeting tomorrow in my office by the way." Rick announced before the door shut.

"Well I'm going to head off to bed." Ragna stated loudly as he yawned.

He bade them goodnight and headed to his room, Saphira following not far behind as well. As Ryker walked near the couch, intending to relax and think, Aurora flashed a mischievous smile and shoved him onto it, giggling as she got on it as well and straddled him. Ryker chuckled and kissed her, Aurora's tails moved erratically in happiness. He then carried her upstairs into their room and onto their bed. She traced her fingers along his chest, giggling as he responded by feeling her hips, eyeing her beautiful face and curves. Aurora hummed softly, filling Ryker's ears with her angelic voice. He then looked at her eyes, noticing that they had a pleading look to them. He then lightly nipped her neck, sending tiny shocks of pleasure throughout her whole body. He trailed the bites down her neck to her chest area, where he looked at her for permission before going any further. She nodded, Ryker acknowledging it then carried her back upstairs. He laid her onto the bed and continued to kiss her, earning small gasps of pleasure from Aurora. She, at the same time, undid his shirt and pulled it off, revealing his bare form underneath. She then took off her own shirt, leaving her in only her bra.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Ryker suddenly asked her. "Am I going too fast?"

Aurora smiled and caressed his face with one of her hands. She then gave him a small kiss, earning a small growl of contentment from Ryker.

"I'm absolutely positive. I love you, Ryker and even though we're not in our true forms, I still believe that this will bring us even closer than we were before. Besides," Aurora flicked the tip of his nose. "I actually can't get pregnant in this form. When I feel like I'm ready to start a family with you, that'll be the time we are both in our natural forms. By the way, this is my first time so please be gentle with me."

Ryker nodded and held one of her hands, his expression happy and confident.

"Likewise and of course I'll be gentle with you. As for the day when you feel like you're ready, I'll be waiting for that time to come." he told her with a smile.

Aurora giggled and kissed him again for the umpteenth time that day. They enjoyed this battle of dominance, Ryker winning easily though. Aurora undid the clasp of her bra and took it off, revealing her breasts to Ryker who, in turn, didn't get flustered for once. He stopped kissing though when she also took off her skirt and panties, determination showing through her actions. Ryker took off the rest of his clothing as well, wondering if he would be able to please her. When they finished, they looked at each other for a moment, taking in the view of each other. Ryker was first to make his move and began trailing more kisses onto Aurora.

"Ohhh. Rykerrr." she moaned as he reached her left nipple.

She looked at him and noticed that his pupils were dilated again, his instincts taking over like the last time. He licked her nub, earning a gasp of pleasure from his soon to be mate. He licked it with long flat strokes of his tongue, for a total of a couple of minutes before moving onto the other nipple. Aurora tightened her grip on the bed, overwhelmed with the pleasure she was receiving. She then noticed something make contact with her leg and found that it was his manhood, throbbing with each passing second. It was at full mast and her keys widened as she calculated the length.

15 inches...gifted.

She didn't want to be the only one not doing any work in their session and decided to stroke Ryker's erect member, causing him to pause what he was doing and take a sharp inhale of pleasure/surprise. Aurora smiled, knowing that it had a positive effect on him and continued to stroke him, from base up. Ryker let out a small growl and instead of returning his attention to her now erect nipples, lowered his face to her lower lips. Aurora quivered, feeling the breath from his nose on her womanhood. Ryker then gave it an experimental lick, causing Aurora to immediately arch her back in pleasure.

"R-Ryker...That felt sooo nice.." she moaned, her voice barely above a whisper.

She then began pumping his member, making him growl again. Ryker decided to return the favor by plunging his tongue into her inner walls, massaging the flesh within and lapping up the juice build-up. Aurora nearly cried out in ecstasy, covering her mouth with her other hand as she remembered that they were not the only ones occupying the house. Ryker swirled his tongue around her clitoris, making slow pleasurable circles and occasionally pressing his tongue against her love button. He then wrinkled his nose, her scent proving to be too tempting for his hypersensitive nose. He then plunged his tongue deeper into her, making her cry out his name and moan. Every movement shocked her. Every lick picked up a semi copious amount of her juices.

"Aurora." Ryker suddenly called to her.

Aurora looked up at him to see that his pupils were no longer dilated. He lifted his head from her lower regions and gave her a weak smile.

"Yes, Ryker?" she asked, worried about his expression.

"Can you loosen your grip, please?"

"..."

A realization suddenly dawned upon Aurora and she looked at his member, her hand tightly wrapped around it unintentionally due to the amount of pleasure she received. She immediately became extremely embarrassed and released her hold on him.

"Oh, Arceus! I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" she asked as color returned to his face.

He responded by giving her a smile and massaged one of her breasts, immediately making her silent and gasping erratically. As he fondled one of her breasts, he latched his mouth onto the other, his pupils dilating once more as his instincts regained control.

"Ryker! That feels-! Oooh..." she managed to mutter.

Determined that she wasn't going to be the submissive one in this ecstatic activity, she growled and flipped him onto his back, surprising him. Before he could do anything, Aurora licked his member, swirling her tongue around the head and gradually engulfed it in her mouth. Ryker clenched his eyes but not a sound escaped his lips. He was allowing her to be somewhat dominant...for now... Aurora then bobbed her head up and down, suckling like a baby to a mother. Ryker couldn't believed how skillful she was, especially for her first time. In reality, she decided to mimic his intentions and allowed instinct to take over. Aurora unconsciously smiled, glad that she succeeded to please her lover and that she was actually doing a good job. A few moments later, Ryker growled and flipped her back under him, assuming the dominant position again and making his status clear as "Alpha." Aurora felt him prod her entrance then quickened her breathing as he slowly pushed inside of her before coming to a stop due to a resistance.

"Are you ready, my mate to be?" Ryker asked, his eyes back to normal and his voice full of concern and care.

Aurora looked at him and nodded, bracing for what she heard from others as a painful but quick experience. Ryker took a deep breath then swiftly broke her hymen, making her cry out in slight pain but kissing her to somewhat take her mind off it. Fortunately, it worked and she melted into the kiss. A few moments later, Ryker began thrusting, slowly but gradually picking up pace as she moaned in ecstasy. Ryker grunted as he felt her tight but moist passageway constrict his member. It is actually said that if a woman's vagina is tight, it means that she isn't turned on. However, in this case, Ryker is actually a little too big for her...

"Ryker! Faster! Please, my love!" Aurora moaned into his ears.

Ryker gladly complied and quickened his thrusting, matching a speed similar to that of a jackhammer. Aurora moaned as he did so, his skillful thrusts making contact with her g-spot every time. Aurora wrapped her legs around his waist as well as embraced him with her arms. She moaned into his ears, compelling him to double his efforts. Soon, the sound of their lovemaking drowned out any other noise. Luckily, Ryker raised a soundproof barrier around their room at the start. Finally, after what seemed to be a total of an hour, Aurora felt her walls tighten around Ryker's member.

"Ryker! I'm-!" she began but couldn't finish her sentence.

Ryker knew what she was going to say and nibbled her neck as well as occasionally licking her breasts. Aurora shrieked as she finally climaxed, her walls squeezed Ryker powerfully as well as releasing a torrent of her juices onto the bed below them. Ryker let out a small groan as he gave one final thrust all the way into her until he could go no further, He released his load into her, warming her and filling her to the brim. Aurora moaned as she felt his seed warm her and buried her face into the crook of his neck. After a while, she looked down, wondering about something and widened her eyes when she saw that Ryker's member was all the way in. However, he could go no further and around two inches of his manhood still stuck out! Ryker lowered her onto the bed, laying down next to her as well. She smiled and embraced him, earning a chuckle from him as he hugged her in return. He kissed her and stroked her hair as she began to fall asleep.

"I love you, my mate." he whispered lovingly.

"And I love you too, my love, and I'm glad that you're finally my mate as well as my first and only." she responded.

"Damn. I can't top that. But I feel the same exact way." he replied with a chuckle.

Aurora giggled and cuddled up to him, sleep finally doing her in. Ryker smiled and closed his eyes, passing out a few minutes later.

 **The next morning...**

Aurora's eyes snapped open, a smile found its way into her face as she remembered the previous night's events. She turned around to see Ryker smiling at her. She kissed him happily and when they separated, she yawned.

"That. Was. Amazing." Aurora stated with emphasis.

"Yes you were." Ryker replied, earning a light blush and a giggle from his mate.

Aurora took a look at the sheets they were using and gave a small laugh of amusement.

"I think we might have to replace the sheets." she said in a low voice.

Ryker chuckled and got up from the bed with Aurora following suit. They got dressed am for the day and Ryker took the sheets and threw them into the washing machine, adding extra detergent and other cleaning materials as well. They went downstairs and found Ragna and Saphira already awake eating breakfast which consisted of steak and eggs as well as bacon. Ragna noticed Aurora's beaming smile as well as Ryker's happier expression.

"You two seem chipper this morning." Ragna remarked as they made their plates.

"Sun's shining and the birds are chirping." Aurora replied as she sat down, Ryker taking a seat across from her since the seat next to her was occupied by Saphira.

Saphira frowned and sniffed the air, eyes widening as she investigated further.

 _Wait,_ she told Aurora privately, _that smell on you and the smell on him too...Did you two mate last night?_

Aurora blushed and began to eat her food, refusing to answer Saphira's question. Saphira, taking Aurora's silence as a yes, squealed happily and hugged Aurora as well as congratulating her.

 _See! I told you that you two would one day!_

Aurora smiled and nodded, eating her food slowly as she looked at Ryker who was in a conversation with Ragna at the moment. However, he noticed her looking at him and gave her a small but unnoticeable (to Ragna and Saphira) wink, making her smile even more.

 _How was it?_ Saphira suddenly asked.

Aurora sighed happily and took a bite into the steak.

 _It was amazing. I never knew it would be that great._ she replied.

 _...I know this seems to be a bit weird for me to ask but..how big is he? I'm genuinely curious._

 _...Fifteen inches fully erected._

Saphira shuddered, thinking that she probably couldn't take it. She returned to eating her food, telling Aurora that Ryker had definitely plugged her up the night before. Aurora was taken off guard by the remark and choked on her food, coughing as she drank some water.

"Are you alright, Aurora?" Ryker asked, curious though concerned at the same time.

"It's nothing. I'm perfectly fine." Aurora replied whilst smiling nervously.

Ryker nodded, deciding not to pry and returned to his conversation with Ragna. Aurora turned and glared at Saphira who giggled and innocently drank her water as if she didn't do anything.

Later, Ryker drove them to Rick's office, stopping along the way for Saphira since she had to use the restroom. They entered the building and after asking a guard for directions, fnding Rick stamping papers like mad in his office.

"Oh hey! Glad you can make it." Rick told them.

He handed a folder to Ryker who opened it and looked inside. There was a picture of a middle aged man with dark green eyes, black hair, and stained teeth. Underneath the picture, a description was present.

"Sakurai?" Ryker asked.

Rick nodded grimly, setting aside his papers for a moment.

"That's right. He's the new leader of Team Rocket. Bastard killed nineteen of my men on a scout mission once."

Ryker handed the folder to Ragna who took a look at it as well before handing it to Aurora and Saphira.

"Do we know where their commanding base is or at least the whereabouts of Sakurai?" Ryker asked.

Rick got up from his seat and walked over to a map of Hoenn. He pointed at Meteor Falls and traced a large circle around it.

"We know that one of their major bases is in or at least near Meteor Falls. If we manage to find it, we should be able to find some information about Sakurai and their headquarters."

Ryker nodded as Rick went back to his seat. Ragna then made his way to the front and handed Rick the folder.

"So what's our plan?" he asked him.

Rick leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples with his fingers. He then sat up straight with a determined look.

"We'll send a team of soldiers to comb the entire area around Meteor Falls. If nothing comes up, you four will be sent into Meteor Falls with me as well and when we find their base, I'll explain the rest when we're there. However, we'll need a hacker for the security systems and for the computer mainframe they no doubt have."

Rick was about to call someone with his poketch but Ryker suddenly raised his hands, stopping Rick.

"I can do that for you. When I used to be in the Special Forces division in the military, I have a friend who taught me how to hack into high level systems on her free time."

Aurora then remembered Grace, the Ninetales she had met back in Kanto. Grace Legend was indeed a great hacker which also brought up a wonder in her mind if she and Vargulf were doing well in the Pack.

Rick got up from his seat and walked to the door, gesturing them to follow. They did so and he led them a simulation room, one similar to the one Ryker and Aurora were in back in SF. Rick went over to the monitor and began typing km a few codes into it before gesturing Ryker inside.

"I had just entered in the code for a hacking simulation. This is on medium difficulty so if you pass, then I'll consider letting that role fall onto you when we're there." Rick stated as the simulation began.

There was a large computer monitor in the middle of the room and Ryker walked up to it immediately, noticing the countdown which started at a minute.

"This is a Team Cipher monitor by the way!" Rick shouted over to him.

Ryker began typing in a series of codes, bypassing firewalls and other security pop-ups. The group was amazed as they saw his fingers blur across the keyboard and hit keys at an amazing pace. Soon, Ryker was brought to a password screen that required, well, a password.

Ryker immediately went to work, already typing in SHADOW POKÉMON into the monitor. ACCESS DENIED blared on the screen and the simulation showed that Ryker had two tries left. Ryker frowned and thought for a moment before typing in GREEVIL. However, before he hit enter, he stopped and changed his password to something else.

"They always took the first opportunities to make money so... " he muttered before typing in REALGAM TOWER.

The screen blared ACCESS GRANTED and the simulation ended with Rick clapping his hands.

"Nice! Now let's try a Team Magma monitor on the hardest setting." he announced before typing in the codes.

Ryker's simulation restarted again, this time with only forty-five seconds. Ryker already passed the firewall in merely two seconds and was brought to a password screen. Ryker frowned and typed in GROUDON, failing and warning only two tries left. Ryker then typed in LAND into the monitor. ACCESS DENIED it read again with him only having one try left. Ryker thought about it this time with only fifteen seconds left. He then snapped his fingers and typed in TEAM AQUA SUCKS and ACCESS GRANTED appeared on the screen, surprising the others.

"Huh. Looks like you had your experiences with hacking before." Rick told him.

Ryker nodded and walked back to them, stretching his fingers.

"I've dealt with all the crime syndicates before on my missions given by Lady Arceus. Team Magma and Team Aqua are the easiest to deal with and they never seemed to put that much into their security." Ryker said in a calm tone.

Rick nodded and gave Ryker a thumbs up.

"Well, looks like we have our hacker for the mission."

After an hour of planning and such, Ragna and Saphira led Ryker and Aurora to a large clearing that seemed devoid of people. After making sure no one else was nearby, Ragna took a deep breath and explained in a confessing tone.

"Look," he began as he gained the two's attention. "we haven't been complete honest with you two and now I feel like a giant hypocrite for doing so. I just want to start off with I'm sorry and that I hope that this won't cause a rupture in our friendship."

Saphira transformed into her **Natural Form** and looked down onto the floor nervously as well as Ragna as Ryker and Aurora looked at them. One of two things then happened at that moment. Ragna waved his hand and Saphira's appearance shimmered, letting Ryker and Aurora know it was a disguise. The shimmer died down and before them, shocking Aurora and somewhat surprising Ryker.

Instead of a Reshiram, there stood a large blue scaled dragon whose eyes looked like sapphires. She had two marble-colored horns that slightly curved upwards and her turbine-like tail disappeared and had the appearance of a normal large tail save for a small ball of blue fire on the tip of her tail. Her wings were large and curled inwards and instead of only having two legs like she had as a Reshiram, she had four without two of them being limbs for her wings.

Ragna was next to transform, his skin began breaking apart as he got on all fours. White scales sprouted from his body and two limbs grew from his back. His blue eyes became draconic and if one were to look, his irises resembled wild flames. His body grew larger and he grew claws as well as large, sharp teeth. When he finished transforming, there stood a large dragon, taller than Saphira, with white scales and blue eyes. Like Saphira, he had four legs and and a blue flame tip on his tail. He had three back horns, two by his ears and one on his snout. He had a small black wispy beard on his chin and unlike Saphira, his wings were leathery. They were large, having black membranes and spikes at the tips. His claws and teeth were black too unlike Saphira's that were shining white. He had black spikes leading down his neck to the end of his tail as well as jaw spikes along, well, his jawline.

Ragna snorted, ending a small jet of blue flame into the air. He then lowered his head in shame, Saphira following suit. Aurora was completely shocked, her mouth wide agape and eyes wide. Ryker simply raised his eyebrows and cocked his head to the side.

"Drakengards, rare indeed." Ryker announced.

Ragna and Saphira looked at him with unsure expressions.

 _You're not mad at us or at least surprised?_ Saphira asked them but more to Ryker.

Ryker shook his head and got closer to them, noticing that their scales were nicely kept polished as well as their claws which were nicely sharpened.

"I've seen many interesting things in my life and seeing two of a rare species such as Drakengards, is up there indeed. And no, I'm not mad, actually more like awed." he told them.

Ragna and Saphira looked at each other incredulously, wondering if there was anything that could set him off other than someone hurting Aurora. Speaking of, Aurora snapped out of her shocked phase and looked at them with a questioning look.

"What are Drakengards?" she asked.

"First off they are not pokémon like you and I (Islingr Suicune are a rare breed of Suicune though humans registered Suicune as pokémon) but ancient dragons that serve as guardians of certain sections of the world. They are incredibly rare and are immune to fire, save for mine, and though they seem big now, can be as large as you in your **Battle Form.** Speaking of, Lady Arceus told me about that day I left in Sora's dimension by the way and I'm impressed. Anyways, they are superior to all reptilian species including wyverns and such and speak the Ancient Language, a language full of a mixture of draconic and elvin characters. Other than fire, they have a secondary breath. Judging by Saphira's scale color, she has ice breath and with Ragna, burning energy attacks. Lastly, they're immortal and I think Ragna and Saphira are actually just a bit older than us. 26-27 I think."

Silence.

Ryker sat down on a tree stump and stretched his arms, sore from training around dawn. Ragna looked at Saphira and cooked his head, unable to say anything. Saphira then looked at Ryker who was still focused on stretching his arm.

 _How do you know so much about our species, more specifically, our age?_ Saphira asked him.

Ryker wiggled a finger in the air, stretching his neck next.

"Lady Arceus told me your ages. As for knowing about your species, reading does us all some good." he replied, earning multiple sweatdrops from the rest of the group.

Aurora sat down next to him and gave Ragna and Saphira a concerned look.

"Does Lady Arceus know about this?" she asked.

Ragna and Saphira nodded and Aurora gave them a an "oh" expression.

Ryker then got up, walking back towards the car nearby.

"Well, this makes it all the more interesting. We should get back to the house now and train for the oncoming mission." he told them, earning a roll of the eyes from Aurora who followed him and a surprised look from the other two.

 _I don't understand him._ Saphira told Ragna who simply nodded in return before they turned back into their human forms then following Ryker and Aurora to the car.

 **At the sparring grounds behind the house...**

Ragna was in his real form again and looked at Ryker with uncertainty.

 _Are you sure about this?_ he called over to Ryker who simply nodded.

"This will benefit both of us in quadrapedal combat."

Ragna knew that but he was actually worried because he was ten feet tall, his normal height. Like the Legendaries, he had an **Altered Form** (7 ft.), a **Natural Form** which was his current Form (10 ft.), and his **Battle Form** (45 stories tall). It then registered in his mind that Ryker said "quadraped combat". At that moment, Ryker transformed into his **Natural Form,** him being ten-foot tall like Ragna but a Fenrir.

 _Are you ready?_ Ryker asked, his eyes intimidating Ragna before said Drakengard could respond.

 _Ready._ Ragna replied as Ryker placed a barrier around the field, protecting everything within it so they wouldn't have to worry about damages.

Saphira and Aurora were in their **Natural Forms** doing the same thing, both being nine and a half feet tall. They smiled as they charged at each other, making one wonder if the barriers were enough the contain their power.

 **With Ryker and Ragna**

Ryker dodged a energy beam from Ragna who followed through with a slash. Ryker ducked underneath the attack and clawed at Ragna's feet, making his opponent buckle and trip. Ragna growled and launched himself at Ryker who blew a fireball towards the Drakengard. Ragna widened his eyes at the sudden attack and maneuvered around it, barely dodging it though hissed as he felt the tip of one of his wings singe. He then breath a large wave of energy at Ryker who shielded himself with his wings, clenching his teeth as he felt the stinging pain from the attack. When he opened them, Ragna was already upon him, his mouth aimed at the Fenrir's throat. He clamped on and bit down fiercely but barely broke through Ryker's tough hide. Ryker growled and countered by taking one of his wings and batted Ragna off, the force powerful enough to send Ragna into a nearby boulder. Ragna winced and got up from the group only to get tackled by Ryker back down to the ground. Ryker then bit at Ragna's wing, making his opponent yell out in pain. Ragna gritted his teeth and retaliated by headbutting Ryker who got off before the attack could connect.

 **With Saphira and Aurora**

Saphira dodged the icicle Aurora shot at her and countered by blowing a beautiful stream of blue fire at Aurora. Aurora fired a blast of water at the fire, both dissipating and turning into steam. Saphira took this chance and tried to tackle Aurora who threw up a wall of ice. Saphira smacked right into it headfirst, groaning as she got up. She then winced as the dry ice burned the top of her head but shook it off. Saphira then saw Aurora above her in flight and fired random blasts of fire and icicles at Aurora. Said Islingr Suicune maneuvered and dodged most of the projectiles but winced as an icicle pierced one of her legs. She landed back onto the ground, lifting up her hind leg to avoid putting pressure on it. She then fired a beam of light at Saphira who didn't have time to react to the fast moving attack. The beam connected with Saphira's shoulder and she yelled out as it passed through the other side. Saphira then regained her composure and looked at Aurora with a challenging smile.

 _I'm guessing it'll take a lot more than that to take the both of us down._ she told Aurora who smiled with determination in return.

Both sparring sessions went on for another two hours. When they finished, Ragna and Saphira were on their bellies, their forked tongues sticking out as they tried to catch their breaths.

 _That. Was. Grueling._ Ragna remarked with Saphira simply groaning in response.

Ryker and Aurora looked at each other with amused expressions and lowered the barriers. Aurora then sat next to Ryker who began sharpening his claws with a boulder.

 _When we have free time sometimes, Ryker and I would train like that but twice, wait no, thrice as hard. This is nearly nothing to what we do for training._ Aurora remarked to the two Drakengards.

They simply wheezed in response and they began healing each other's wounds.

Later, they found that surprisingly they could fit inside the house and walk around freely in their **Altered Forms.** They went the living room and decided to relax for the time being as Ryker went out and hunted outside of Sanctuary, sticking to the shadows to avoid attention. He knew they were all hungry so he didn't mind hunting by himself. When he left, Ragna went over to Aurora and nudged her with his wing.

 _He's so damn brutal in his training hehe._ Ragna told her.

Aurora chuckled and laid down on a couch, already knowing it could support her weight like most furniture save for chairs.

 _Well he mostly trains by himself everyday and when we train together, we go all out because we know we're the only two able to actually deal enough damage to each other._ she responded

She then looked at them with a quizzical look upon her face.

 _So, do you two mind me asking where you two come from?_

Ragna shook his head with a small smile as well as Saphira. Saphira was the one who started to reply.

 _We were born in a large land called Alagaësia. It's full of elves, dwarves, humans, and other creatures. It used to be nearly devoid of dragons though._

At this, Aurora's interest was immediately piqued and she cocked her head with a questioning expression. Saphira, already knowing what the next question was, answered Aurora.

 _Let me give you Alagaësia's history. It's a land of magic and mythical creatures. It's divided up into three kingdoms, each for the dwarves, elves, and humans. There was an alliance between the three kingdoms and each Kingdom have their group of dragon riders, chosen people who bond with their destined dragons from the moment they hatched. One rider, Galbatorix was his name, risked his dragon's life and in the end, killed it through a rash decision. Galbatorix though, loved power so he stole another dragon. Here's the thing, if the Dragon dies then the rider lives on, not vice versa._

Aurora nodded her head, the story taking a dark turn all of a sudden.

 _So,_ Saphira continued, _he and a group of evil turned riders, the Forsworn, killed off all the rest of the riders and dragons and Galbatorix took the last three dragon eggs for himself. For a century he ruled since dragon riders are immortal. One day, Princess Aria of the elves and one of the leaders of the Varden, the resistance against Galbatorix, stole an egg from Galbatorix and teleported it away for safety before they captured her. In another village, a man by the name of Eragon found the egg and several days later, a blue baby dragonet hatched from the egg and already knowing how to speak mentally, told him her name was Saphira._

Aurora sat up now, wondering how the rest of the story turned out.

 _Eragon's father, Brom, found out about this and led Eragon and me to the Varden whilst training Eragon the ways of the sword. However, Brom died from being stuck down by a Shade, a being created by dark magic and able to yield dark magic. After the burial, Eragon rescued Aria from the prison and together, we went to the Verden's base in a mountain which housed dwarves. The kingdom was called Trojenheim, very beautiful there. As he trained with Aria as well as falling in love with her in the process, Durza, the Shade, attacked and we had to fight back._

Saphira continued on, explaining about all the battles she was thrown in as well as all the challenges she had to overcome. She told her about Murtagh, Eragon's brother who bonded with the second stolen dragon egg. She told them about how Murtagh was forced to serve under Galbatorix and so was his dragon, Thorn. It was noon by the time she came near to the end of her story.

 _After Eragon struck down Galbatorix, all the kingdoms rejoiced and everyone celebrated. A few months later when everything settled down, Eragon finally got together with Aria and didn't really care for me afterwards. Even before that when I became the size of a house, he abused me, hitting me and verbally assaulting me. He always treated me like dirt and never really gave a second thought about risking my life. Though, he kept a facade to all onlookers of being nice to me a save for Aria who knew about it the whole time but she didn't care as well. Eragon forced me to say nothing about it and I had to put up a facade as well, forcing myself to act happy around him. I also had to protect him, for if he dies then so do I due to our bond from the day I hatched._

She looked down at the ground, a small tear leaked from one of her eyes as Ragna hugged her with a wing.

 _I chose the wrong person to bond with. Though I realized that too late. Eventually, he married Aria and when people weren't looking, made me do everything for them. They abused me so much.. so much... I considered suicide for once. One day though,_ Saphira looked up and smiled at Ragna, _I found this guy sleeping soundly in a nearby forest._

Ragna looked at Aurora with an embarrassed smile.

 _I kinda didn't care for the war and hid deep in the forest until the day she found me. I also immediately fell in love with her._ he told Aurora, earning a kiss from Saphira who continued.

 _Everyday when Eragon and Aria left to do whatever they did, I visited Ragna and hung out with him, sparring, playing, hunting, anything fun. He was the reason why I began to put up with Eragon and Aria. Then, I told him about my predicament and he immediately told me to severe ties with Eragon._

Aurora looked at Ragna who frowned and turned serious.

 _There is one way for a rider and his dragon to break their bond. The dragon must mentally severe their connection, risking their own life in the process, with the rider and they will no longer be bonded and if the ex-rider were to die, the Dragon would still live on. I didn't want Saphira to do this since it would risk her life in the process but she did it anyways and succeeded. When she did, I came to her side when Eragon became furious and threatened her. He posed a danger to her due to his knowledge of magic as well as his enchanted sword which could kill any dragon easily. He and Aria fought Saphira and me and in the end, we killed them in defense. We told the kingdoms the truth and they no longer worshipped Eragon like a king, not that they could since he's dead. From then on, Saphira and I lived together in Du Weldenvarden, the great forest, and we became mates. We actually have a son though he lives in Alagaësia right now. Later on, Saphira and I were contacted by Lady Arceus so this and that happened and here we are._

Aurora nodded and smiled, happy that they were happy and didn't have anything holding them back. At that moment, Ryker walked in with two large Taurus, one on his back with its eyes rolled back due to him mentally crushing it's mind and the other in his mouth. He set one down in front of Ragna and Saphira, their meal large enough to satisfy both of them. He then set the other down in front of Aurora and sat next to her.

 _You two should bring us there one day. I would love to see what's there and I would love to meet your family as well as the elves._ he told Ragna and Saphira, both nearly tripping onto the Taurus.

 _You heard all that?_ Saphira asked with incredulity.

Ryker nodded and mentally placed a transparent table made of his shadows underneath both of their meals.

 _Before I left, I set up a barrier around the house just in case trouble finds us here. Since you three spoke to each other mentally, I was able to listen as well. This Eragon fellow, whoever he was, shouldn't have found your egg that day 26 years ago. Though, I guess if he hadn't, you maybe wouldn't have met up with Ragna._ he said with a small smile.

Saphira and Ragna smiled as well and Aurora looked at Ryker with a happy expression. She thought that he always seemed to say the right things at the right times. They dug into their food, not worried about making a mess thanks to the shadow tables Ryker placed underneath them.

Later, Ryker advised them all to get some rest for the mission the next day. Ryker and Aurora went to their rooms and slept immediately, with Aurora cuddled next to Ryker who had his wing over her substituting as her blanket.

 **With Ragna and Saphira**

Ragna stretched as he laid down onto the bed, chuckling as Saphira cuddled up next to him. How the beds supported their weight like they were nothing was a wonder. Saphira kissed Ragna who in turn, massaged her back. She moaned into their kiss. Ragna decided to play around for a bit and flicked his forked tongue across the roof of her mouth, making her shudder. They disconnected and Saphira looked at him with a loving and pleading look.

 _Take me, love._ she told him, placing a soundproof barrier around their room.

Ragna growled as she turned around with her hind lifted into the air. Ragna mounted her, prodding her entrance before licking her neck lovingly as he thrusted into her making her moan. He nibbled her neck as he thrusted into her, going at it like rabbits. Saphira then widened her eyes as he hit her g-spot multiple times, grabbing onto the bed so she wouldn't lose her balance. The bed knocked against the wall with every thrust, making items on a nearby wardrobe clatter. Saphira suddenly growled and turned around, engulfing Ragna's dragonic member in her mouth. Her head bobbed back and forth complementary to his thrusts. She used her tongue and snaked it around his rod, pumping his member within her mouth with her tongue. At that moment, Ragna emitted a low growl as he came inside Saphira's mouth. She smiled as she swallowed every last drop, milking a few more drops with a couple of sucks of her mouth. Saphira then released his member and pushed him onto his back onto the bed. He chuckled as she lowered herself onto him, moaning as his rod throbbed and pulsed within her. When he could go no further, she bounced onto him, her rump meeting his crotch area and him thrusting to her every dip motion. If one were to look, it would definitely be a sight to see. It is a bit unorthodox since they're both quadrapeds and she had to get into a sitting position but it still worked. Saphira moaned and drooled a little bit as Ragna increased the force of his thrusts. Ragna then reached up and bit onto Saphira's neck, massaging it slightly with his teeth. He then took his tail and rubbed it gently against Saphira's slit which was still being plowed. Saphira moaned and clenched her teeth, the pleasure almost too much for her. She then got revenge on Ragna by tightening her hips, effectively tightening her inner walls and squeezing the hell out of his dragonic member. Ragna groaned and panted heavily, loving the session they were in.

 _Saphira... So.. tight.._ he moaned into her mind, prompting her to double her efforts, bouncing faster with harder impacts.

Eventually, Ragna clenched his eyes and opened them, revealing that his pupils contracted into slits. He grabbed Saphira's hips somehow and rammed her needy cavern repeatedly, pounding her into ecstasy and making her dazed.

 _R-R-R-Rag-n-n-naaaa..._ she moaned, his powerful thrusts even affecting her mental speech.

Her walls then spasmed and she screamed in pleasure as she climaxed into him. Her juices coating the entire lower half of the bed and Ragna's hips. Ragna growled like a feral animal and jetted his seed deep into her, making her moan as she felt his warm ribbons of male essence making impact with her womb, filling it. He continued to ride their climaxes out, making them last as long as possible. A few more seconds of this went by and soon, Saphira disconnected from him with a soppy *squelch*, falling on to him with a happy sigh. Ragna regained his senses and smiled, kissing her before quickly passing out with her seconds later. Their flame tipped tails quickly dried the bed in minutes...

 **Meteor Falls**

"*crack* I have the computer room in my sights." Ryker spoke into the mic, voice completely devoid of emotion like it always was on missions.

Rick frowned as he noticed this, wondering why Ryker was suddenly like this. Rick looked behind him, seeing Aurora and Saphira, both shrugged their shoulders to his unasked question. Rick then shook his head and replied to Ryker.

"*crack* Roger that. Just stay where you are and we'll be right there."

Ryker nodded to himself and looked at Ragna who nodded in affirmative. He looked at the hallway behind them which was littered with bodies of Rocket grunts. All of which, dead or dying. Ryker pulled back both slides of his guns and checked his supplies, making sure his grenades, flashbangs, and his customized mines which explode and send out bladed disks on explosion, and ammo were in order. He then turned to the sound of light footsteps, spotting the rest of the team as they stepped over the mounds of bodies.

"The hell you guys do to them?" Saphira asked, earning a calm expression from Ragna who had a finger pointed at him by Ryker...that didn't seem right...

Ryker then walked up to the door ahead of them, pulling the metal slates open forcefully before stepping inside. Aurora caught up to him and looked at him, seeing nothing but an expressionless visage. She sighed in defeat, knowing full well that he was like this all the time on missions and MOST of the time when they hang out. She knows he tries though and she also knows he's getting better at it. She nudged him, smiling encouragingly. Ryker then unexpectedly smiled back, warming her. He then focused on the task at hand, seeing a large computer monitor in the center of the room. They noticed two grunts sleeping on the monitor so he walked up to one of them, scanning the grunts mind to see if he did more good than bad. The former won and he simply left the grunt alone. The other grunt though, was a different case and Ryker twisted the guy's head around, snapping his neck in one motion. He did this to all the other grunts as well, though most of them did a lot more bad and little to no good. The others said nothing about this, for this was what needed to be done.

Ryker began typing furiously, inputting codes in a blur and all the others saw was a bunch of zeros and ones. Ryker then hit enter and a password entry screen popped up onto the screen. He thought for a moment before typing in PERSIAN.

The screen blared red and purple gas started to flow into the room from the vents.

"Ryker!" Saphira warned as she transformed and used her wings to blow away the gas.

"I know." Ryker replied calmly, not even fazed by the incoming gas.

He then thought to himself for a second before typing in PROJECT X100-MEWTWO. The screen blared red again and this time, venomous snakes slithered into the room through hidden panels.

"RYKER!" Ragna exclaimed as he backed away from the hundreds of snakes.

Ryker chuckled and lazily typed in WORLD DOMINATION without hitting enter.

"You guys think this one's it?" he asked with another chuckle.

"Ryker, I swear I will freeze you where you stand!" Aurora exclaimed as she swatted away a striking snake.

Ryker laughed again and hit enter, the screen blaring green as he waved his hand and burned away the snakes as well as destroying the vents by blasting them with fireballs. The vents exploded, the gas flammable so it ignited immediately. He then laughed again and leaned back in his chair, looking relaxed for once on the mission.

"I needed that and my bad guys, I knew the password since the beginning when I scanned the grunt's mind."

The others sweatdropped, wondering if that was his version of a joke. Aurora then remembered the time when Balto and the gang tried to pull a prank on him and shivered violently. She walked over to him and lightly smacked the back of his head then looked at the holographic screen and plugged in a flash drive. Then, she used her hand and dragged multiple files into her flash drive storage, data bombing the computer when she finished. She removed the flash drive and gave it to Rick who flipped it in the air and made it disappear into his dimensional storage. At that moment, Ryker got up from the computer and typed in a few codes and took a step back, just in time before the computer frizzed and cracked before the whole monitor exploded.

"That's that." Ryker announced turning serious again.

All of a sudden, his ear twitched and the doors shuddered before steel bars blocked them inside. A TV lowered into the room and Sakurai appeared on the screen. He cackled and wiggled his finger, not noticing the subtle growl that Ryker gave out. Aurora, however, grabbed his arm and calmed him down.

"Uh uh. Why don't you leave that flash drive here before I blow this place to kingdom come?" he said with a sneer.

At this, Rick tensed and prepared to teleport them all out of there but found he couldn't. He then heard Sakurai laugh and cursed.

"You can't teleport out of this psychic proof room hehe. Both the explosives and the anti-pyschic plates are wired throughout the place." Sakurai told them.

However, he didn't notice Ryker pull out his phone. Ryker then entered a code into his phone and a wave of electrical interference emitted from it, taking out everything electrical and all defenses in the walls save for strangely the TV.

"Thank you, Grace." Ryker muttered as he heard Sakurai utter a stream of angry curses.

"Might as well give up, Sakurai. We'll find you." Ragna announced.

Sakurai sneered at them and slammed his fist down onto his desk. He then showed them a live footage of a whole army of Rockets headed for the direction of Sanctuary. In fact, they were only a few miles away from the hidden entrance!

Rick nearly destroyed the TV in anger, marching right up to it fists curled up in fury.

"Sakurai! How did you find out Sanctuary's location?!"

Sakurai cackled again cracked his fingers, showing a folder that read CLASSIFIED on its side.

"Giovanni left some presents before he died from that accident. I really find it interesting how he got third degree burns at his beach house near the river. Strange thing indeed."

At this, Ryker allowed a small smirk show on his face for a millisecond before turning serious once more. Then, he grabbed Rick and pulled him back, motioning for the others to get closer.

"We need to go now. He's only distracting us while his army gets closer." Ryker told him.

Rick nodded and glared at Sakurai for one final time before teleporting them all to the Mercury, their means of aerial transportation. More specifically, Rick's gigantic warship.

By the time they reached Sanctuary, Rick spotted the Rocket army only several miles away, calculating they only have about ten minutes to prepare.

Rick teleported them to his office and he brought the mic up to his mouth, spitting words into it harshly.

"EVERYONE IN THEIR HOUSES! TEAM ROCKET HAS FOUND US AND THE ARE INVADING! SOLDIERS! TAKE YOUR POSITIONS AND WAIT FOR MY ORDERS! I WANT MY TEAM MEET UP WITH ME AT THE GATE ASAP!" he spat.

The city of Sanctuary bustled and such, panicked cries resonated throughout the area. The barking of safety procedures can be heard as well in multiple points in the city. At the gates, Rick's whole team were present and were waiting patiently for him. Rick and the others suddenly appeared and he immediately started issuing orders.

"Alright, good. You're all here. Dartz, Ashlyn, you two along with Jean and Seras will take care of their infantry and any Remnants. Speaking of, any Projects?"

"Project Iota is here and he's leading the army along with Sakurai." Serenity quipped.

Rick cursed and nodded, directing his attention back to the two Absol in front of him.

"Serenity, you and Sage as well as Claw and Fang (two Salemence) go for their heavy artillery. You four are our mega-evolvers so therefore, our heavy hitters. Alara, you will-wait, what the hell?! What are you doing here?"

Alara had a worried expression and tugged at his arm pleading.

"I'm worried about you Rick so I'm coming with." she told him.

"No. You have to stay here and watch over Sheerah and Maiyu. Besides, Iota's here and I don't want him to go after you." Rick replied with disagreement.

Alara was about to retort but Ryker stepped in and held her shoulder with an assuring expression.

"He'll be fine, Lady Alara. And he's right, you shouldn't go into battle especially when you have two little ones who need protection. Lord Xeron and Lady Aldira are actually at Maiyu's and Sheerah still needs you with her at your own household. This is war, Milady, and unfortunately, we all experience losing loved ones. In this case, not offending anyone by the way, children need their mothers more than the fathers. The role of the father is to protect his family and Rick can't do that if you're endangering yourself on the battlefield." he told her.

Alara bit the inside of her mouth and frowned, suddenly going over to Rick and giving him a passionate kiss before separating.

"You better come back." she said in a serious tone.

Rick smiled and nodded, kissing her on the forehead before she teleported to her house with little Sheerah. Rick then cleared his throat and returned his attention to the team.

"I, along with Alpha, Aurora, Ragna, and Saphira will go after Iota and Sakurai...*sigh* The only thing I have left to say to you guys is don't die on me, alright?"

His team nodded furiously with smiles, some giving a few whoops and others a couple fist pumps. Rick nodded then faced the impending army. He turned on his mic and cleared his throat before he spoke.

"*crack* All soldiers, ATTACK!" he roared.

A suddenly appeared and he unscathed his sword, Green present next to him.

"What about us? Don't you want us to help defend your home too?" A remarked with a chuckle.

Rick clapped his hands, a smile finding its way onto his face.

"Right, my bad. Michael, you and Green assist Jean and Seras. If they release any Titans or the like, take them down."

Rick and Green nodded, Green donning blackish-red armor as something in her pocket glowed. Ryker figured it was one of the Titan seals they recovered that Rick mentioned in one of their meetings.

A few explosions sounded and a few warcries sounded. Rick then saluted to his team and they each left, taking their places in the battlefield and fighting off the enemy. Rick then faced to Ryker and the others and nodded, teleporting them to Iota's mental signature.

Iota, an intimidating Houndoom, calmly looked ahead as he saw Rick and the others appear in front of him. However, he noticed that he brought along newcomers that exhibited large amounts of power, specifically the black haired one. He then turned to Sakurai and nodded, signaling that their main target, Rick, was their in their midst.

"So, Aeruthael, I assume it all comes down to this battle. And it seems that you brought extra help though it won't help against me." Iota said with an emotionless tone.

Rick facepalmed and looked at Iota with an irritated look.

"You and Alpha talk the same exact way though at least he isn't overconfident or smug." Rick remarked whilst shaking his head exasperated.

Iota cocked his head and turned his attention to Ryker and the others, noticing Ryker who had an emotionless expression much like his. Iota though can't help but to wonder why Ryker's eyes show so much... nothing?

"Well let's get this started, shall we?" Iota barked (not literally, mind you).

At that same time, Sakurai injected himself with a serum of some kind and growled as he grew in size, his muscles buldged unnaturally and his eyes blazed a purple color. He was then a total of fifteen feet tall and purple electricity sparked around his body. He grew bony wings and sprouted ten or so tentacles from his back. He grew two ram-like horns and a long scorpion-like tail. He then produced a long scythe that glowed purple with energy. Sakurai then smirked and cracked his neck.

"Like it? Courtesy of my scientists and a little mixture of Project DNA." he snarled and fired a ball of electricity at the group.

Aurora immediately conjured up a thick ice wall which held off the attack. She then dismissed it and transformed into her **Natural Form,** cueing Ragna and Saphira to transform as well into their **Natural Forms.** Rick was shocked to see them as Drakengards but decided to ask them about it later. Ryker simply summoned his swords and armor and got into his battle position. Rick then took a deep breath before transforming as well, taking a form of a powerful samurai. He then produced two swords, Shadowbane and one of light, Sovereign, and charged at Iota who smirked.

Iota charged a Void Cannon and fired at Rick with his horns. Rick teleported out of the way and slashed at Iota who simply sidestepped. At this moment, Sakurai charged at Ragna and Saphira with a maniacal laugh, swinging his scythe all the way. Ragna ducked and fired a fireball out Sakurai, making the Rocket leader hunch over in pain. Saphira took this chance and flung him away with her tail. As those two fought Sakurai, Iota's Remnants, lackies with some of his powers, attacked Ryker and Aurora. There were a total of seven Remnants and they quickly outnumbered Ryker and Aurora but being outnumbered didn't faze the two. Ryker swung his swords, sending two waves of shadows and flames towards the Remnants. They dodged the attack but one unlucky Remnant didn't react in time and had his head decapitated, the rest of his body shredded by Ryker's shadows and the remains devoured by Ryker's flames.

Aurora fired a **Hyperthermic Beam** at one of them Remnants, freezing him. At the same time, another Remnant threw poisonous disks at Ryker who simply twitched his hand, his arm a blur as he slashed the disks away with his sword. Ryker then disappeared and reappeared behind the Remnant, snapping the unlucky fool's neck with ease and threw the body at the frozen Remnant. The body collided with the frozen Remnant and Ryker drew his sword through them, setting them ablaze and killing them instantly. Another Remnant leapt at Ryker from behind, only to get impaled by an icicle fired by Aurora.

Rick ducked as Iota blew a stream of flames at him. Iota merely grunted and sent a stream of shadows at Rick, impaling the Gallade's shoulders. He then lifted Rick up into the air and fired a Void Cannon to Rick's chest. Rick cried out in agony as the Void Cannon exited out through the other side of his body. Rick regained his composure and clenched his teeth, jumping a little as Thaleus spoke in his mind.

 _Let me take over. Let me help you do this so we can win this together._ he told Rick who nodded in agreement.

Rick suddenly roared as he grew large transparent wings. He grew inch long fangs and his eyes turned into a purple red color. Shoulder spikes emerged from Rick and he drew his blades within his arms. He slashed at the shadow bonds, freeing himself and slashing at Iota with both swords. He actually succeeded in the attack. Iota flinched as he felt his chest have its flesh torn off. He then gritted his teeth and headbutted Rick/Thaleus who winced but bit fiercely onto Iota's neck. The Houndoom growled in irritation and fired a **Fire Blast** at his foe. His attack succeeded and a small yelp of pain can be heard behind the veil of fire. Iota then ducked as a purple ball of energy flew by and bared his teeth as his adversary walked out of the flames, a smug look upon their face.

Ryker swung his sword at the last Remnant who swiftly ducked and kicked at Ryker. Aurora, however, intercepted the attack and bit down on the Remnant's leg, crushing it easily. The Remnant screamed but didn't have time to recover before Aurora flew into the sky and threw him towards the ground. Before he made contact with the earth, Ryker jumped and met the flailing being halfway, swinging his sword in a blur. He and Aurora landed and so did the Remnant, his body sending up a thick cloud of dust upon landing. When the dust cleared, it revealed the Remnant's body in several pieces. After about half a second, the remains burnt up and left a foul smell in the area but it soon went away. Ryker and Aurora turned to see Sakurai stab Ragna with his scorpion tail. making the Drakengard yell out in pain. Saphira saw this and growled ferociously before pouncing onto Sakurai, clamped down on his tail, and tore out his tail which she then spat out in disgust. Sakurai screamed in agony but was then shut up when Saphira stomped on his stomach, making him double over. She then reared her head back, prepared to roast him with her flames. Sakurai recovered quickly and took this as an opportunity, charging a powerful ball of electricity with his hands. He then hissed in pain and fell on one knee, noticing one of his horns on the ground. He also saw Ryker's sword fly back to its wielder's hand, who changed his swordfighting style to backhanded. Ryker then ran up to Sakurai who was about to back away but snarled in pain as Saphira's flames bathed him in a torrent of blue. It then cleared and revealed Sakurai slightly charred but panting heavily. Ryker reached him and swung, a slash mark appearing on the monstrosity's chest. Sakurai gritted his teeth and staggered back, looking up to see Aurora hit him with a powerful beam of a mixture of light and dry ice chunks which exploded into a mist, burning the target's skin. **Ultraviolet Hail** was its name.

Sakurai moaned in pain, grinding his teeth as he tried to endure Aurora's deadly attack. He then glared at them and roared into the sky, a sinister purple aura emitted from him when he did so. For a moment, he did nothing but breathe heavily. Then, he looked up and smiled, two rows of shark-like teeth can be seen. He then sent his tentacles at them, each splitting open as they grew mouths with teeth that resembled like that of a lamprey. Ryker got in front of Aurora and Saphira, both somewhat winded and recovering from their last attacks. Ryker then swung both swords, making them whirl in circles and fending off the tentacles as well as cutting them and rendering them useless. Ryker then sent a shadowfire ball at Sakurai who threw up his hands to shield his face. He then yelled out as the flesh of his hands started to char as well as sever.

At that moment, Sakurai saw Ragna who was on the floor in agonizing pain due to the poison. He then smiled sinisterly and disappeared, reappearing next to the Drakengard's body. He then opened his mouth, his tongue a prong-like shape and dripping with acid.

 _DON'T YOU DARE!_ Saphira bellowed as she tackled Sakurai away from her mate in distress.

As they landed, Sakurai smiled since this was exactly what he wanted. Whilst Saphira got off of him, he suddenly lunged toward her neck, cackling with glee.

*shhkkk!*

...

"Arghhhh!" Sakurai screamed in agony as he fell back to the ground, his tongue flopping erratically next to him.

Saphira blinked, surprised, and looked at Aurora who gestured to the dragoness's right. There stood Ryker, his sword dripping with what appeared to be Sakurai's blood which was a light shade of green. Ryker twitched his hand and flicked the blood off his sword, the blood sizzled on the ground as it made contact. He then walked up to Sakurai who was still writhing in pain on the floor. Ryker stepped on the mutated man's chest and extended his hand out.

"Do you have anything left to say? Any regrets, last minute apologies, or even a quick prayer of mercy to Arceus?" Ryker asked emotionlessly.

Sakurai's body reverted back to normal due to his major lost of blood. Sakurai then looked up at Ryker and tried to (but failed) to spit at him.

"Fuck you, you damn heartlechh mochher!" Sakurai slurred.

Ryker laughed, though there was no humor in it. He then looked at Sakurai emotionlessly like before.

"Indeed I am. That's exactly right." Ryker replied despite Sakurai's hypocritical statement.

His arm still outstretched and his palm facing towards Sakurai's face, a ring of shadows formed on his palm and fingertips. At that moment, Sakurai's head exploded, his brain matter still hanging from his neck area. Whatever that was left of Sakurai's body burnt up, though slower than the usual. Aurora looked on with horror as well as Saphira and they widened their eyes when Ryker turned around. The Fenrir's face was still blank, half of it sprayed with blood. The same could be said with his hand which, being closest to the bloody explosion, was completely drenched in Sakurai's blood. Aurora noticed how empty and cold his eyes were and shuddered, knowing that Ryker was no doubt used to this already.

Ryker walked over to Ragna, inspecting the stab wound before summoning black flames onto his hands. He then took a deep breath and sent the flames into Ragna's body, the flames pulsating within. All of a sudden, the poison oozed out of the wound and Ryker quickly called Aurora over. She washed it away with pure water and also made sure that the wound was disinfected. The purple hue that used to stick on Ragna's scales disappeared and his breathing stabilized, making Saphira sigh with relief. They then turned to see Rick getting thrown into the ground followed by a powerful wave of dark energy from Iota. When the dust cleared, Rick was revealed knocked out and bleeding profusely. Iota smirked and faced his remaining foes, finally showing some emotion.

"Can any of you fare better than him?" he asked though immediately got knocked back by Ryker.

Iota got up angrily and spat out a fair amount of blood before snarling at Ryker. He then began to glow darkly and grew in size, transforming it appears.

The rest of Rick's team appeared, exhausted and somewhat bruised in some places.

"He's turning into his most powerful form! He's going to go on a rampage and I don't think you guys will be able to take him!" Seras exclaimed.

Aurora look at Ryker, having complete faith in her mate and his abilities. Ryker suddenly summoned a wall of flames around him and Iota, fearing for the other's safety. Jean then shouted over the din, the battle between the Rocket army and Sanctuary still raging on.

"Alpha! I think we should take him on with Rick's and Alara's parents!" he shouted as Seras nursed Rick back to health.

Rick coughed and opened his eyes which nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw Iota transforming. He then looked at Ryker who seemed to be completely unfazed. Said Fenrir turned around and gave them a reassuring wave of his hand.

"It's alright. I know he's dangerous but trust me, I faced worse in my travels." he told them as Iota finished transforming.

Standing around twelve feet tall was a monstrous canine form with large black angel wings that burned with red flames. Six tentacles, three per side, sprouted and flailed dangerously around Iota. His horns grew in size and pointed upwards, resembling the Houndoom's mega evolution form. A skull with glowing eye cavities was present on his chest and Iota's claws grew dramatically. He had a mane of fire going down from his neck and his teeth dripped with saliva, some of them glared in the sunlight.

Iota snarled and charged at Ryker who sidestepped, and a big sidestep at that, and slashed at the behemoth's leg, causing Iota to fall flat on his face. Ryker then jumped onto Iota's back and tried to stab him but failed as Iota suddenly got up and performed an aerial flip, sending Ryker into the ground. Iota then charged a Void Cannon with his horns and another within his mouth and fired them together at Ryker, causing a large explosion that nearly sent Ryker's allies back with furious winds. Their visibility cleared and Iota smirked, seeing nothing but a black smear in the crater. His eyes then widened as he heard growling behind him. He turned to see Ryker in his **Natural Form** matching his size and chuckled.

"So this is the fabled Alpha of the Fenrir. Lord of Oblivion and Dark Hellfire. And much, much more titles people have called you over time." Iota remarked as he backed away, preparing for Ryker to attack.

Ryker simply cracked his neck and snorted, a jet of flame escaped his nostrils. The others, save for Aurora, Ragna (who recovered), and Saphira, looked at him in major shock and awe. Ryker then looked at Iota calmly and sent a ball of shadows at him.

Iota widened his eyes at the surprisingly fast attack and ducked, turning around to see a portion of the Rocket army get reduced to shreds. He then turned around only to get tackled by Ryker. Iota shook it off with a wince and growled, charging at Ryker with his horns glowing red. Ryker waited until the last moment and jumped, flipping over Iota. Ryker then fired a shadowfire ball at Iota's back, sending the enraged Project sprawling. Rick and his team watched with awe, amazed by Ryker's display of skills and power.

Iota then got up and summoned spears made of shadows and sent them at Ryker who dodged most of them but flinched as two of them impaled his side. Iota then smirked as the spears embedded in Ryker's side sparked with dark energy, though seemingly, not having an effect on Ryker.

"How?!" Iota spat in outrage.

Ryker pulled out the spears and dispelled them, scolding himself mentally for not doing so earlier.

 _You forget, Iota, I'm AM darkness._ Ryker replied as he disappeared.

He then rose from Iota's shadow, proving his earlier point, and raked his claws against the Houndoom's back, making Iota arch back and snarl in pain. Ryker then batted Iota into some nearby trees with his wing, making others feel sorry for whatever life in the forest that may have been caught in the process. Soon after, Iota got up and flew at Ryker, tackling him and biting down on his hide. Ryker countered by unleashing a torrent of flames at Iota's neck, making his foe scream in surprise and in pain. As Iota tried to put of the flames, Ryker narrowed his eyes, his aura seemed to be amplified at this point. He then charged at Iota, slashing and biting and the like. The others looked on incredulously, seeing only the afterimages of the afterimages of Ryker attacking Iota repeatedly. This went on for a few seconds, Iota screaming in pain all the while. Then, Ryker stopped, blood covering some of his fur and dripping from his claws.

At this moment, Iota surprised them by laughing, increasing in intensity and eventually, maniacally. He then stopped and looked at them with a smile, some of his teeth missing or broken from Ryker's last attack.

"Don't. Think. This. Is... Over. I still *cough* aim to *cough cough* kill all of you." he rasped before his eyes glowed dark red.

Ryker and the others took a step back as Iota suddenly screamed in agony. His body buldged in some areas and tore. This gruesome sight continued on for a few seconds, all the while Iota was screaming as his body was getting torn apart from the inside out. Then, as suddenly as it started, the unknown process stopped and everyone looked at Iota curiously. They then took a step back in revulsion as a pair of large claws emerged from his chest area and ripped him apart, spraying blood of the already dead Houndoom everywhere. At this, Rick's blood turned cold as what seemed to be a large black cross between a Dragonite and a Tyranitar stepped out of Iota's mangled body. It had wings of a Dragonite that seemed to be tattered and large claws that were serrated. Its body was armored like a Tyranitar and it had seven horns sprouted from its head. Its long spiked tail coiled around its body and the monster finally opened its eyes, revealing pure black eyes with blood-red irises. It then looked at them, blood dripping freely from its teeth and roared to the sky, the sound earsplitting and caused vibrations in the ground.

Rick paled and so did his team. Aurora and the two Drakengards took a step back in caution, feeling immense power from the being. Ryker simply stood his ground, his teeth bared and growling menacingly.

"I-I-It's Project Nova!" Rick exclaimed as he shook in fear.

Nova looked at Ryker with a smile and tilted its head nearly a full 180 degrees.

"Yessss. I finally rise and now, I'll wipe out all life as we know iiiiit." Nova hissed, though his voice seemed ethereal and sounded like multiple other beings spoke at the same time.

Nova suddenly warped and stabbed Ryker in the chest with his arm which seemed to have morphed into a blade like shape. Ryker winced and headbutted Nova, knocking the fiend back. Nova chuckled and licked Ryker's blood off his arm.

"Mmmm... Tasty." he remarked as he glowed a bright red, blinding all onlookers.

When the glow died down, everyone save for Ryker who was actually a little surprised, it revealed a blood-red copy of a Fenrir. Basically, Ryker but with a different fur color. Nova looked at himself and nodded to himself proudly.

"Hmm. Not bad not bad. Interesting, no?" he asked Ryker who remained silent as usual.

Nova then warped in front of Ryker and blasted him with a torrent of red-black flames. Ryker, the flames copied of his own, grimaced and yelled out in pain. The others saw this and Aurora ended up trying to get past the barrier but couldn't.

 _Ryker! Let me in so I could help you!_ she pleaded only to draw the attention of Nova.

Nova chuckled and walked over to her, only to get tackled fiercely by Ryker. He bit down on Nova's neck, breathing fire onto it as well. Nova cried out in pain and glared at Ryker with a frustrating expression. He then kicked Ryker off and summoned a horde of shadows. He sent them at Ryker, who in turn, sent his own shadows. The two attacks actually went passed each other ended up successfully impaling their targets, both hunched over in pain. Nova then growled with irritation and flew up to the sky.

"Let's see how you all like this!" he cackled with glee.

Aurora widened her eyes as she realized Nova was charging his own **Twilight Oblivion** attack. Ragna limped over to her and nudged her with his wing.

 _What is he doing all the way up there?_ he asked with worry.

Aurora gave him her own worried expression before the Drakengard's question.

 _He's planning to initiate the_ _ **Twilight Oblivion**_ _attack, one of Ryker's signature attack. I'm not sure whether or not we should be worried because I was told Ryker is the only one able to pull that off._ she replied.

At that moment, an or of energy rose from the ground and floated in front of Nova, causing her and everyone watching to panic.

 _EVERYTHING MOVE AS FAR AWAY AS Y-_ she instructed but stopped when she felt a large aura expansion from Ryker.

Ryker growled and he charged an attack similar to Iota's void Cannon with his horn. He then fired it straight into the ball of energy in front of Nova, making it expand. Nova chuckled maniacally at the attempt.

"Idiot! Why give it more energy? Are you that desperate to kill me?" the monster Project jeered.

Ryker ignored him and continued firing his attack into the ball of energy, causing his team to look at him like he was insane. Aurora though, put two and two together and looked at the ball of energy with a sudden realization.

 _Everyone,_ she said to them, _when you give energy more energy, it grows and becomes more powerful. And when it expands, it will grow larger and larger until it becomes really unstable which will lead to-_

"A super 'effing big explosion?" Jean asked, finishing her explanation.

Aurora looked at them and nodded, finding it a really clever tactic. Nova stopped laughing and noticed that they were calm and actually waited for something.

"What? Did you all give up already? Or should I give this ball more juice?" he jeered.

He fed the ball more of his energy, making it expand significantly. Ryker finally ended his attack and decided to let Nova do the work for him.

"Are you all afraid now? That I'm going to wipe out every living being on the planet? Are you?" Nova asked as he continued to fees the ball energy.

Unknown to him, the ball slightly ruptured at the edges and the energy started to bounce around more wildly.

"COME ON! SAY SOMETHING! I WANT YOU ALL TO BEG AND SCREAM IN FEAR BEFORE I CULL ALL OF YOU GUYS TO DEATH!" he exclaimed, finally fed up with their silence.

At that moment, he noticed some of their smiles and tilted his head questioningly. He then looked towards the direction of the ground and saw that the energy ball was rupturing uncontrollably. He then paled and looked at them wearily.

"Fucking pri-" he cursed as the energy ball exploded, pushing everyone including Ryker back some ways.

The explosion was very large and could be seen from all the way past Sanctuary. When it went off, the remaining energy shot up into the sky and caused thunder and lightning to go off before it dissipated. A large cloud of dust rose from the area as well, obscuring everyone's view of everything around them. It took a few moments before the debris and dust cleared, revealing Ryker standing on Nova's chest for the killing blow. Right before the attack connected though, Nova chuckled evilly causing Ryker to stop and the others to look with curiosity.

"Not only did I get your abilities and such but I also got your memories." Nova spat, making Ryker pale and back off.

Nova got up and dusted himself off before sneering at Ryker.

"A whole continent of people and other life? How does it feel to take their lives away?" Nova asked, making Ryker shake his head.

Nova continued on though with a smirk.

"How do you feel that since you transformed in front of a villager, it caused him and everyone else to rise up against your family and eventually killing them off? Wouldn't that mean it was your fault that day?"

Ryker started to panic, trying to shield his ears with his wings but failing to. The others looked on but knew they could do nothing. Some were surprised though by the new information. As Nova continued to verbally torment Ryker, Aurora tried calling out to her mate, failing to get his attention and snap him out of it.

"Aren't you worried that you might kill off your friends? Any of these guys or others?" Nova continued, finally driving Ryker to the brink.

Ryker growled menacingly and howled into the sky, a howl that spread fear and worry into everyone who heard it. Though the howl was one of sorrow and frustration and the fact that it came from Ryker made it even more tough to bear.

Ryker suddenly warped behind Nova and tackled the lookalike from behind. Nova cried out in surprise but then screamed in pain as Ryker tore out one of his wings. Ryker spat out the wing and Nova quickly reacted by kicking Ryker in the stomach.

"Yes! That's the monster everyone fears and runs away from!" Nova remarked, his constant taunting finally getting to Ryker who growled and blinked, revealing that his eyes were completely black. His white irises were gone and the whites of his eyes turned black as well.

 _Don't listen to him! You're not a monster!_ Aurora pleaded to him though her words didn't reach him.

Nova got up with a limp and propped himself up with a leg, nearly losing his balance due to the lost of one of his wings.

"Yessss. Join me and together, we can destroy this miserable planet. Join me, and we can bathe the streets with blood. Join me, and we'll feast on the entrails of those too pathetic to do anything."

At this, Ryker stopped and twitched his ear, apparently hearing Nova's offer. Ryker then slowly walked over to Nova, each step scorching the earth bellow.

"Don't agree to that, Ryker! Don't you care for the rest of the world?" Rick asked.

He actually unintentionally increased the dark influence within Ryker who actually didn't like humans or care about others save for a select few in the first place. Ryker continued to walk towards Nova, seemingly calm and silent.

"Don't you remember your job? To be a Knight of Alph? What do you think Lady Arceus will think when you join up with Nova?" Michael remarked though in vain.

Ryker still continued to walk slowly over to Nova, the others thinking that he's actually considering to join forces with the Project. Nova then smirked smugly, laughing triumphantly at them.

"You see? He, like myself, is a monster capable of destruction. So what if he's a Knight? So what if there are humans or others in his way? He killed his parents yet that didn't stop him from growing powerful." Nova remarked with confidence.

All of a sudden, he was tackled with a great amount of force to the point he broke through the barrier Ryker had set up and landed into the ground. Ryker pounced on him in less than a second and clamped down on Nova's other wing, tearing it out as easily as the other one making the Project scream.

"What do you think you are doing?! We were supposed to destroy this world together!" he questioned through his wails of pain.

Ryker didn't answer but continued to inflict pain upon Nova. He bit down on Nova's fore leg, snapping it as well as the other with a twist of his neck. Nova screamed in agony, muttering a stream of curses into the atmosphere. Ryker then did the same with Nova's hind legs, rendering the Project handicapped and now immobile.

"Arghhhh! Damn you!" Nova wailed though screamed again as Ryker tore into his stomach.

Ryker bit down at the flesh, tearing out Nova's intestines and organs. However, Ryker left the heart alone to leave Nova alive enough to feel the pain. He then began snapping off Nova's horns one by one, each incredibly sensitive like a limb to Nova. The others just watched as Ryker put Nova through hell. Aurora couldn't believe what she was seeing, Ryker was so brutal and barbaric in his attacks. She tried calling out to him again but like last time, failed. The others tried as well but received the same result. They cringed in disgust and horror though as Ryker continued to slowly kill Nova.

Ryker then bit down at Nova's chest, pulling the flesh apart. He then lowered his head and one by one, snapped Nova's ribs. Nova, now crying in agonizing pain, screamed even more to the point where even the others pitied him. Ryker moved on from the ribs once each were successfully broken then looked at Nova with a feral look in his eyes. He then clamped down on Nova's neck tightly and with one swift motion, tore out Nova's neck and destroying the Project's jugular veins and such.

Nova widened his eyes and tried to scream but couldn't. The only thing he did at that point was gurgle and choke on his own blood. He then gave Ryker one final look before finally dying on the spot.

Ryker looked up to the sky, doing nothing. Aurora and the others got closer to him, wondering if it was all over. Aurora got closer to Ryker, spraying off the blood off his face with water. She then tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

 _Ryker? You alright? It's all over._ she told him only to jump back in fear as he bared his teeth at her and everyone else.

Ryker's dark aura expanded with malevolence and he growled at them, his eyes still pure black. He then took a step towards them, making them backtrack slowly.

"Ryker, w-w-what are you doing?" Seras asked him only to receive a feral growl from him.

Ryker's dark thoughts from the deepest corners of his mind then manifested in front of the group, shocking them as they heard them.

 _ **They'll all betray you. They'll all turn their backs on you.**_ one thought remarked.

 _ **They hate you. They are also afraid of you, just like the villagers. They'll kill you when you least expect it**_ **.** another voiced.

 _ **They were never your friends. They only manipulated you to buy time. Now, kill them before it's too late.**_ another hissed.

 _ **You don't need friends. You don't need family. You don't need love. All you need is to wipe everyone out so you won't hurt anymore.**_ the last one added.

The team, especially Aurora, were shocked by the negativity and the potency of the dark thoughts. They couldn't believe the things they were hearing and Aurora felt slightly disappointed as she heard them.

 _Don't listen to them, Ryker, we ARE your friends. You DO have family._ Ragna retorted as he tried to snap Ryker out of it.

 _He's right, Ryker. We would never betray you and we would never do you wrong like that!_ Saphira added.

Rick swallowed the lump in his throat, noticing The Alpha's predatory look.

"Listen to them, Ryker! Don't you want to PROTECT Aurora and those you love and care for? What about them, huh? What about Maiyu or Sheerah?"

"Or Balto and the rest of our family? What about the three pups, your nephew and nieces?" Aurora added.

Ryker suddenly put a paw on his head and groaned in pain, apparently conflicted with himself. He then screamed which turned into a growl soon afterwards. He looked at them with an emotionless expression, flames and shadows intensified around him.

 _There is no more "Ryker," he is gone. There is only... "Alpha!"_ he told them with a scary tone before he howled into the sky, as if a large hunt began.

 **With Jeanne**

 _Oh no! We must come to their aid!_ Jeanne announced to her mate as they both rushed into the meeting chamber of The Hall of Origins.

 _ALL AVAILABLE LEGENDARIES REPORT!_ Darko announced as dozens of portals opened up before him.

As all the legendaries piled in, Jeanne stomped her hoof to get their attention.

 _Listen, all of you. What we are about to attempt is very dangerous and may kill you. Lord Fenrir has fallen influence to his own inner darkness and may level the entire planet in his rage. We need to go to him and try to subdue him until we figure out how to break him out of his blind anger. If any of you wish to step out, you may. It's very understandable and we won't look down on you if you do._ she told them.

Most of them looked afraid indeed at the mention of Ryker. However, surprisingly, they all stayed true to their duty making Jeanne smile.

 _Thank you all for your bravery. Now, prepare yourselves for a great battle._ Darko remarked as he opened a large portal to Ryker's position. As they all waked through, Jeanne couldn't help but to think.

 _Is this enough to stop him?_ she thought to herself before going through the portal.

Aurora and the others backed away from Ryker who looked at them with a feral expression. However, they were all surprised as a portal opened up and a group of legendaries, including Darko and Jeanne stepped out and surrounded Ryker who growled and got into his **Battle Form,** towering over them and dwarfing them easily in terms of both size and power.

Jeanne looked at Aurora and the rest of the team and nodded with encouragement. Aurora sighed with sadness before getting into her **Battle Form** as well, as well as Ragna and Saphira. The others simply backed away, knowing full well they would only get in the way. In fact, Jeanne told them to return to Sanctuary to their homes to stay safe with their families.

All the rest of the legendaries got in their **Battle Forms,** the tallest being only up to Ryker's chest. They all summoned their armor as well, knowing that they could very well die if they weren't careful. Aurora, being tall up to Ryker's shoulders walked up to him though stayed several feet away.

 _Please. Snap out of it. We don't want to do this to you..._ she pleaded with tears escaping her eyes.

At this, Jeanne swore she heard a pleading whine from Ryker but dismissed it as the Fenrir in his **Lord Alpha State** growled at them viciously. Jeanne and Darko then went to the front, donning their armor, and stood their ground.

 _TO BATTLE!_ they shouted together and Ryker growled over the din.

This was definitely going to be a horrifying day to remember.

 _ **"There should be no despair for you**_

 _ **While nightly stars are burning,**_

 _ **While evening pours its silent dew**_

 _ **And sunshine gilds the morning.**_

 _ **There should be no despair - though tears**_

 _ **May flow down like a river:**_

 _ **Are not the best beloved of years**_

 _ **Around your heart forever?**_

 _ **They weep - you weep - it must be so;**_

 _ **Winds sigh as you are sighing,**_

 _ **And Winter sheds his grief in snow**_

 _ **Where Autumn's leaves are lying:**_

 _ **Yet these revive, and from their fate**_

 _ **Your fate cannot be parted,**_

 _ **Then journey on, if not elate,**_

 _ **Still, never broken-hearted."**_


	16. Chapter 16

**Short chapter but I still love this one. I remember being so very excited while writing it...Pain, death, and relief!**

 _ **"He prowls the night, the wanderer.**_

 _ **He stalks his prey, the shadow walker.**_

 _ **He strikes with a fury from hell itself, the monster.**_

 _ **His anger drives him, this anger is old yet lingers in him.**_

 _ **His mother left him, his father left him... his whole family.**_

 _ **He can remember the day his family was slaughtered.**_

 _ **They were no more, no more thanks to those influenced by fear and hatred.**_

 _ **Tears of sadness, tears of anger, blood of lost love.**_

 _ **He is a victim of his own childhood.**_

 _ **Now this anger intensifies, his urge to kill rises again.**_

 _ **This blood stained memory is more than that now, now a weapon.**_

 _ **A weapon against life he once knew, but nothing to him anymore.**_

 _ **He searches for his prey, any will suffice as long as they bleed.**_

 _ **He is the hunter, his soul is the hunted."**_

 **Chapter 16: ...**

They noticed he had an "A" symbol that glowed on his chest. There was also an " _x_ " behind it, making a strange symbol. Little did they know, save for maybe Jeanne and Darko, the " _x_ " meant "The end".

The legendaries started out with a wave of special attacks, all sorts of projectiles of various types soared towards Alpha. Most of them hit and others missed and you'd think one would be hurt after all that. However, Alpha only seemed to get angrier and growled, performing a **Snarl** attack and ripping some of their eardrums. He then took to the skies and released streams of flames down upon them, making them scramble and split up.

Jeanne frowned and fired a **Light Judgment** at Alpha, actually dealing some damage due to its type being Light and Alpha being Dark. Alpha landed away from them, a scorch mark on his chest from Jeanne's last attack. He then summoned large tendrils of shadows and sent them at the group, nailing some legendaries and missing others. Darko narrowed his eyes then fired a **Roar of Time** at Alpha. Alpha saw the attack coming and simply fired a shadowfire ball at the attack, surprising them as it went through Darko's attack and dispelled it like nothing. Darko ended up getting hit by Alpha's attack and was thrown back several feet.

Ray, being a Rayquaza, bravely slithered up to Alpha and coiled himself around the Fenrir's body, tightening every few seconds.

 _Snap out of it, Lord Fenrir! This is not like you!_ he told Alpha in vain.

Alpha growled and bit at Ray's back, damaging the natural armor. Ray hissed in pain and unraveled himself from Alpha, barely dodging a claw swipe from him as well. At that moment, Princess flew up to Alpha and got in his face.

 _Stop it Alphy! You're being really mean to our friends!_ she childishly admonished.

Alpha snapped at her, nearly succeeding in biting her out of the sky. Princess looked hurt and let a tear fall before charging a large **Aura Sphere** and launching it at Alpha.

 _Meany!_ she cried as the attack blew up in his face.

Alpha shook it off and growled at her, scaring her and making her take cover behind Mewtron who looked at Alpha with a glare. Suddenly, Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde came up to Alpha and combined their strongest attacks against him. The result was a large purple-red ball that pushed Alpha back some. Alpha, however, reflected the attack back at them, launching them into a sky and away from him. He then looked ahead to see Zekrom and the REAL Reshiram fly up to him.

Reshiram used **Fusion Flare** and Zekrom used **Fusion Bolt,** both amplified in each other's presence. They then sent the attackers at Alpha who dodged them with ease. Since that didn't work, Reshiram tried **Blue Flare** and Zekrom charged at him with a **Bolt Strike.** Ryker didn't seemed fazed when the **Blue Flare** hit him and he growled and tackled Zekrom head on, stunning the dragon of ideals in the middle of his attack. Ryker then flew and grabbed Zekrom, throwing the Deep Black Dragon at his counterpart, knocking them both unconscious due to taking damage and exhaustion from using their strongest attacks. Kyurem then appeared out of nowhere and hit Alpha with a **Sheer Cold.** Alpha froze and they celebrated for a quick second before returning to their defensive positions as Alpha melted the ice from the inside. He then hit Kyurem with a **Dark Blast Burn** and knocked the ice dragon out of the battle. Victini flew up to Alpha and tried to hit him with **V-Create** only to get swatted back hard into a nearby tree.

Next, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and Heatran came up to him. Dialga fired a **Dragonbreath** and succeeded in hitting and paralyzing Alpha. Palkia took this chance and slashed at Alpha with **Spacial Rend** though the force of the attack broke Alpha out of his paralysis. Giratina hit Alpha with a **Phantom Force** when she came up out of the ground when the attack ended, Alpha grabbed her and bit down on her wings. She cried out in pain and tried to get him to release her and though he did, not the way she wanted. She was thrown against Dialga who was charging a **Roar of Time** and when they collided, the attack knocked out Palkia. Heatran used **Earthquake,** hoping to throw Alpha off balance. He succeeded and used **Iron Head** to bash Alpha on the skull though not too hard. He had hoped that Alpha would snap out of it but that hoped turned to horror as Alpha growled and bathed him in a torrent of flames. Heatran rolled around in the ground, in agonizing pain due to the black hellfire. Alpha turned around to see The Swords of Justice charging at him. He snarled and used **Aerial Ace,** knocking them out in one hit and thankfully, not killing the noble warriors.

Diancie, Hoopa, and Volcanion then appeared above him, all charging **Moonblast** into a single powerful attack. Alpha warped and reappeared above them, firing a **Shadow Ball** , a true one at that, in their ball of energy which exploded and knocked them out. He then saw Meloetta prepared to do the unthinkable, singing and aiming **Perish Song** at him.

Aurora looked dreadfully worried as the song symbols danced around Alpha. She then was shocked as he roared and shattered the attack. He fired a **Dark Pulse** and succeeded in knocking Meloetta back forcefully. Fortunately, Genesect appeared and caught Meloetta and carried her to the group of knocked out legendaries to heal her like the rest.

Shaymin flew up to Alpha and tried to put him to sleep with her spores but failed. She then gasped before ducking, barely dodging Alpha's claws. She then used **Focus Blast** and fired it at his head only to see him dissipate. She paled as she found it was an illusion and was suddenly knocked to the ground by Alpha who emerged from a shadow. The four golems rushed up to Alpha and all of them, save for Regigigas, fired a **Charge Beam** at him. They amazingly hit him and he staggered a little, then getting knocked back by a **Giga Impact** from the leader of the golems. Alpha growled and stomped his right paw, sending barbed tendrils of darkness at the four. They were impaled then thrown back, giving more work for Genesect who still didn't even finish half the legendaries that Alpha had knocked out.

The Sea Guardians, Manaphy and Phione, charged at him with dual **Aquajets.** Alpha simply jumped to the side at the last moment, making the duo crash headfirst into the ground and giving them both concussions. He then turned around and fired a **Flamethrower** at Cresselia and Darkrai, both tried to sneak up on him by teleporting. Darkai was hit by the attack and groaned in pain but Cresselia flew out of the way. She tried to use **Wish** and **Calm Mind** at the same time but Alpha was too fast for her and tackled her out of the air and into Darkrai.

The Lake Guardians were next to try, all floating to him in spiked psychic balls. They were then pushed back by a gale of winds as Alpha flapped his wings. He then hit them a **Dark Growl,** a combination of **Snarl** and **Dark Pulse.** He instantly knocked them out and growled in irritation as Jirachi, who came out of nowhere, shined a bright light into his eyes and temporarily blinded him. Groundon and Kyorge charged at him during this opportunity. Alpha's ears twitched and he hit all of them with a **Shadow Wave,** a ring of dark energy that saps the energy of those who make contact with it. Alpha, revitalized, disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the three, blood dripping from his claws. Jirachi, Groudon, and Kyorge all suddenly fell with slash marks on their stomachs though thankfully, still breathing.

The Eon duo gathered their courage and hit Alpha with dual **Luster Purges.** Alpha growled in irritation and swiped at them, missing. He eyes then seemed to glow for a quick second and suddenly, the Eon duo as well as Celebi who also was unfortunate to look at his eyes at the time, got in a submissive bowing position in front of Alpha. Alpha walked past them, ignoring them and focusing on the remaining legendaries. Aurora looked at the three submissive legendaries with shock, assuming what Alpha used was another version of his three **Alpha Stares.** The Tower duo, Lugia and Ho-oh, the latter reborn from the ashes and slightly weaker, flew at Alpha. Lugia tried to hit Alpha with an **Aeroblast** but the clever Fenrir grabbed Ho-oh with his shadow and placed her in front of him, making her take the hit. He then bit Ho-oh on the shoulder, making her squawk a **Sacred Fire** in Lugia's direction. Lugia dodged it and flew towards the two but noticed that Alpha was gone. She then turned around only to get headbutted and thrown at Ho-oh, knocking them out and making Ho-oh disappear in a veil of fire to be reborn due to death...again.

Mewtron was next and he transformed into his X-mega-evolution form. He then charged an **Aura Barrage** and fired dozens of **Aura Spheres** at Alpha. Alpha ran towards Mewtron, dodging and jumping over the projectiles. When he reached Mewtron, the psychic kicked Alpha in the chest but was then hit in the face by Alpha's wing. He then grabbed the wing and pulled hard on it, taking the limb out of its socket. Alpha growled and warped behind above Mewtron performing a **Shadow Dive.** He successfully hit Mewtron who was driven into the ground and cut in several places due to the shadows. Mewtron winced and groaned, looking at Princess and signaling her to stay or run away. Princess shook her head violently but hid behind the two Arceus as Alpha got closer. The two Arceus looked at each other sadly then nodded, both producing large regal swords, one of light and the other of darkness, and swung both at Alpha. Alpha growled as he was knocked back several feet with large major slash wounds on his chest. Slowly, he got back up and roared to the sky. The sun was then covered by the moon like before, making a lunar eclipse, and Alpha shot a beam of dark and fire energy at it. The energy then bounced across the surface of the moon and returned to Alpha, charging on his horns. Alpha then opened his mouth and charged a **Hyper Beam** at the same time, shocking them all. He then combined the two attacks and fired the result, a large beam of powerful flaming dark energy, at the two Arceus, both too stunned to move. They were hit by the devastating attack and when the dust cleared, revealed them knocked out with only a few major wounds though both bleeding.

Raikou and Entei then tackled him, one attacked with **Fire Fang** and the other with **Thunder Fang.** Alpha didn't budge from the tackle but growled as he felt their bite attacks. He then sent them both into the sky when he batted his wings. Before they landed, he grabbed them with shadows and tightened the grip before dropping them onto the ground.

Alpha then looked at Aurora and her him. Aurora then gathered up her courage and walked calmly over to Alpha.

 _Ryker...please. I know you're there. Please come back to us._ she pleaded with a voice barely above a whisper.

Alpha stared for a quick second then clutched his head in pain before shaking and growling at her. Aurora then prepared herself and fired a **Hyperthermic Beam** at him from close range. Alpha snarled in pain as the attack went clean through his shoulder and he simply seared the wound shut. He then retaliated by firing a **Inferno** at Aurora. She barely dodged it in time and ran, with him chasing after her. She maneuvered around what little trees were left and jumped over stumps. She looked behind her saw Alpha right on her tail. She then fired a **Dry Mine,** dropping two dry ice blocks to the ground. As Alpha ran over them, they exploded and sent him crashing to the ground with searing skin. Aurora stopped running and walked up to him, thinking he was knocked out. She then jumped back as he suddenly got up and clawed at her,barely missing. Aurora took to the skies and fired an **Ultraviolet Hail** at him. Alpha dodged it and flew at her, teeth bared. Aurora didn't have time to react and he crashed into her, grabbing her as they both plummeted to the ground. Aurora, at the last moment, broke free of him and spread out her wings and landed safely. Alpha, on the other hand, crashed. She knew the only that could kill him is Light so she swallowed the lump in her throat and summoned a regal blade made of pure light.

 _Ryker, please listen to me! Stop this and think clearly! We would never do any of those things to you!_ Aurora pleaded again.

Alpha got up and this time, groaned audibly whilst clutching his head. He then recovered and growled at Aurora who stood her ground. At this time, Rick and his group, all wanting to help, appeared but stopped as they saw Alpha and Aurora staring each other down. Darko and Jeanne came as well, limping though both being helped by Mewtron and Princess. All of a sudden, they all took a step back in shock as Alpha reverted to his human form and screamed into the sky. Aurora didn't know what she was seeing but she noticed that his dark aura was fluctuating and it was actually battling his influenced dark thoughts. He opened his eyes, one being completely black and the other normal and tears leaked from both of them. Ryker, The Alpha, cried for the third time in his life in front of them and grabbed his head in pain, falling to his knees. He screamed once more, sounding agonized and tormented. The other legendaries recovered and flew or walked over, seeing him in pain though didn't get close so they didn't notice his tears.

"I...DON'T...WANT.. TO HURT...ANYONE..ANYMORE! I DON'T WANT...ARGHH...TO BE...ALONE AGAIN!" Ryker pleaded with pain as he pounded his fists against the ground.

The sight caused some legendaries, even the hardened ones, to either cry or sadden. Rick and his team were definitely saddened though Seras and Serenity were crying. Aurora was crying waterfalls and was about to step in but stopped. They all stared shocked as Ryker summoned one of his swords and thrusted it into his chest in an attempt to purge his dark thoughts.

 _ **"This sword and its twin will be the bane of everyone's life, including yours."**_

He screamed. Loud. He screamed in agony and in pain as the serrated blade tore chunks of flesh and tissue as it went through his chest. He also wailed in pain as black flames, by his will, started to devour his skin hungrily. This made those who looked break down even more and some to look away. He then looked at Aurora with a pleading, almost begging look and blood started to leak out of his mouth.

"AURORA! DO IIIT!" he screamed as he noticed that he was regaining strength.

Aurora cried even harder as she charged with the light blade in her mouth. She then drove it into Ryker's chest, in the same area where his sword is on the right side. She sobbed she heard his breathing calmed though labored. She looked up at his face and noticed that he was smiling at her, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. He then embraced her, making her break down and dispel the sword of light and armor. The sight saddened all onlookers.

"Thank you...Aurora. I'm..so..very sorry that *cough* did all those things to you...and our friends too. It was entirely...my fault and I let my rage take over.." he said in a raspy voice.

Aurora shook her head, still crying and hugged him with her wings.

 _No..No! Stop talking, Ryker! You need to save your strength!_ she sobbed.

Ryker chuckled though winced as it really pained him to do so.

"Sadly, I just...used that.. strength against you and many others *cough*"

He then looked at all the legendaries and Rick and his team and bowed his head, apologizing to them mentally. They all nodded, surprising him by accepting his apology. He then returned his direction back to Aurora.

"Aurora...I heard you...I heard you through all of that...Thank you for *cough* not giving up on me." he told her.

Aurora smiled though tears still fell.

 _Of course, Ryker. I knew you'd come back to us._ she replied though noticed with horror that his heart rate is dropping.

Ryker noticed it as well and hugged her harder.

"Again..I'm sorry, Aurora...I just want you to know that *cough cough* I love you, with all my heart...Please move on and live happily without me..and tell the Pack I said "Thank you" and "Goodbye" he whispered to her." as he grew weaker.

Aurora shook her head in denial of the situation. She cried and cried and cried.

 _No, Ryker don't leave me! I need you! How can I live happily without you?!_ she begged.

Ryker smiled and kissed her on her crest then on the tip of her muzzle before mouthing "I love you" and suddenly falling back, his eyes showing no more life within them.

Aurora stared at his body.

 **Pain.**

She couldn't believe it and refused to.

 **My heart hurts.**

She cried and screamed out into the sky as she hugged his lifeless body.

 **I need you.**

Her legs felt weak and she nearly fell forward.

 **Why did you have to go?**

She heard distorted voices, unable to make them out near identify them.

 **Ragna? No...Alara?..Who?...**

 _ **..."You're the Light In My Darkness, Aurora..."**_

She continued to cry, the others looked on sadly and some cried as well. Jeanne cried too as Darko hugged her for comfort. Princess bawled and held onto to Mewtron tightly who looked down sadly. Ragna and Saphira roared into the sky sadly, their close friend now gone.

...

 _...No._ Aurora stated as she got up .

They looked at her sadly, thinking that she still couldn't accept it. However, she went over and grabbed her brother, Raikou, and pulled him over to Ryker.

 _Send your strongest_ _ **Thunder**_ _attack at his heart._ she told him, no, BEGGED him.

Raikou couldn't believe this and looked at her incredulously to see that she was serious. He did so and shocked Ryker's heart. At that moment, his body shook and spasmed for a second before staying still. Still no heartbeat.

 _Again, brother._ Aurora whined and he did so.

No heartbeat.

 _Please, Ryker. Don't do this to me..._

Over and over again, they sent multiple **Thunder** attacks to his chest. With every attack, their hope diminished little by little. Aurora shook her head with each passing second, praying with all of her heart that Ryker would open his eyes. Eventually, Aurora noticed a slight movement and placed her ear on his chest.

No heartbeat...no, but wait!

 _...*ba-bump*_

Aurora nearly jumped in joy when Ryker started breathing again. The rest of them cheered happily and celebrated. Aurora then picked up Ryker's body and flew him into Sanctuary, wanting to get him to a hospital.

When she did, she nearly yelled at the doctor to get Ryker in the emergency room. They hooked in all sorts of equipment and soon, Ryker was placed in the healing chamber that was used for both healing pokémon and humans in remarkable time. When she asked the doctor, she nearly broke down again when he said Ryker was in a coma but still having complete faith in Ryker, she waited in the room for him to wake up for days on end. She didn't eat, rarely slept, nor drank. The only time she would leave would be to use the restroom. As she waited for him, things at Sanctuary slowly went back to normal and Rick announced that Team Rocket was officially disbanded to the residents making them cheer. As they celebrated, Aurora went as well so she wouldn't be rude and she knew Ryker would possibly encourage her to go. When she did go though to the parties or celebrations, she rarely smiled or said anything. However, she did smile at Sheerah's birthday party, remembering how well she and Maiyu got along with Ryker. Anyways, when the parties were over, she'd return to Ryker's room so that if he was to wake up, she'd be there. Balto and the Pack were told of Ryker's condition and were saddened indeed though they couldn't visit due to Pack meetings that day. As for the Legendaries, even though they nearly died from their encounter with Ryker, they hoped he would get better. They knew that what they fought earlier wasn't the real him and they also knew that he would never have hurt them intentionally.

As the days went by, Ryker gave them multiple scares. His heart stopped a few times and he went into cardiac arrest one day as well. Aurora asked the doctors and nurses many times about his condition but only received grim looks for answers.

 **Two months later...**

Ryker opened his eyes, wincing at the sudden brightness of the room. He got up, wincing again in slight pain as he looked around. He saw some Get Well balloons and the like and also noticed that Aurora was at the foot of his bed. He froze for a second, finally registering with confusion that he wasn't dead. Then, a small smile found its way into his face. He weakly reached for Aurora's mane and stroked it lovingly, carefully to prevent waking her up. He then yawned, feeling extremely tired. He laid back down, sleep taking him again. In his sleep, he went over some plans with himself, saddened that it was included leaving Aurora...

 **A few hours later...**

Aurora was at a large party in Rick's backyard. Said Gallade was hosting a birthday party for Alara who was indeed surprised finding about a hundred or so in her backyard. Aurora was sitting at her seat, fiddling with a straw in her cup. She didn't know why but she had the urge to feel her hair every now and then ever since she woke up earlier. Aurora sighed and smiled weakly as some guests walked by whilst waving at her. She didn't want to ruin the party by being moody so the forced smiles were a requisite. She then returned back to whatever she was doing, which was nothing.

 _Hiya, Aurora!_ Princess announced making the Islingr Suicune jump.

Princess giggled and sat on Aurora's lap, playing with her friend's beautiful hair.

"You and Mewtron are here?" Aurora asked, her voice was lower in tone and though the Mew noticed it, she didn't say anything.

 _Uhm! We also gave Alara some gifts though they were mostly for Sheerah in a way. Milk bottles and the like._ Princess replied with a laugh.

Aurora nodded and Princess cheered, successfully braiding Aurora's hair into a tail behind her head. Aurora shook her head at her friend's antics though smiled with a laugh, shaking her head to undo her braided hair. At that moment, Ragna walked up to them and gave them a wave of his hand.

"Hey guys! You seen Saphira? Last time I saw her, she was eating at the table with me and now I can't find her."

Aurora shook her head but Princess shot into the air enthusiastically.

 _I do! Just follow me and I'll lead you to her!_

Aurora looked with amusement as the overly hyper Mew led Ragna to an area in the garden. She then reached up and pulled out the crystal flower Ryker gave her out of her hair. She stared at it, lost in the many stars and patterns of the galaxy image within. She eventually put down the flower, it was somewhat too painful to look at. Any other time would have been fine but right now, when her lover is in critical care, not exactly. She then felt her stomach growl and got up, walking to the table with the large bowls of assorted foods.

 **Back at the hospital...**

Ryker growled as he pulled out the cords connected to his body. When he did this, the heart monitor flatlined and gave off emergency beeping. Ryker got up and out of the bed, turning his head as a doctor and a nurse came in expecting him to be dying.

"Sir! You need to lay back down on the bed, please!" the nurse instructed him.

Ryker shook his head, giving a reassuring gesture that they completely ignored.

"Sir! We ask you again to lay back down or we'll have to subdue and sedate you." the doctor stoically stated

At this, Ryker's eyes flared in dangerous fury and he looked at them, scaring the living hell out of both of them.

"Who. Is. Going. To. Subdue. Me?" Ryker challenged, growling at them.

At this, they paled and raised their hands in defense as well as backed away to the wall in fear.

"N-N-No one, sir! The s-s-sign out she-sheet is out front!" the nurse squeaked.

Ryker calmed down and looked at them, nodding in thanks. He then went to the changing room nearby, summoning a casual set of clothes onto his body as well as taking off the patient attire. He left the large piece of cloth on the bed and walked to the lobby area where he signed himself out. Before he left, he asked them to not say anything about him to Rick and the others. That was a request they immediately took and had no problems with.

Ryker summoned his car keys and pressed a button, waiting for about a minute before his car arrived and parked on the sidewalk. Ryker got inside and drove to his and Aurora's house, at the same time wondering where his friends were. He reached the house and went inside, finding no one present. He shrugged and walked upstairs to his room finding it empty as well. He looked at the bed and found that it looked like it hasn't been used for a while. He then smiled as he remembered that Aurora slept at his bedside the whole time at the hospital. He then noticed a small letter on the wardrobe next to the bed and found that it was an invitation to Alara's birthday party. Ryker smiled, finally knowing where they were all at. So, he changed his clothes and changed into the appropriate attire. He wore a black suit, complete with dress pants and shoes. His hair wasn't changed though his beard was nicely shaved. He tightened his tie, making sure that he was at least presentable. He then left the room and house then went inside his car. He started it again and began driving to Rick's house which began blaring some upbeat music from the backyard.

 **At the party**

Aurora slowly chewed on her food, lost in thought. Her crystal rose was still on the table next to her plate. The others noticed this but didn't question her. They were actually seated at a large table, eating together happily. Aurora was sitting next to Maiyu who was sitting next to her cousin Sheerah. They too were somewhat sad due to Ryker not being able to be there but that didn't stop them from enjoying the party. As multiple conversations flew across their table, Aurora remained despondent, saying nothing until Maiyu poked her side.

"Open up! Aahh!" she said with a giggle as she hovered a fork with potato salad near Aurora's mouth.

Aurora smiled and engulfed the small amount of food with an exaggerated _munch!_ This caused Maiyu to laugh a bit and others to look at with amusement. It was times like this when Aurora actually felt lighter and somewhat happy every once and a while. Maiyu giggled and tried to withdraw her fork but Aurora wouldn't have it, playfully keeping the utensil in her mouth. Finally, after around a minute or so, she opened her mouth and Maiyu resumed eating with a large smile. Aurora smiled too and began eating a normal pace somewhat contentedly.

"So, how's the party, hon?" Rick asked Alara.

"It's great, Aeru! Even grandfather Aeruthael (X) and his wife is here and you know they don't go out much."

Rick chuckled at her point, taking a sip from his glass of juice. The thing was that him, Alara, and his parents were not drinkers nor they planned to be. Rick was the one of many being a vegetarian and Alara was the only one chocolate-obsessed.

"How many people are here?" Serenity suddenly asked as she swallowed her food and moved her bangs out of the way of her vision.

"Around one twenty or one thirty. I forget. Still though, it still seems like we still have more room here in the backyard." he answered while making mental calculations.

"Most of them family? Friends?"

"More than half are family and the rest are either close friends of mine or Alara's. Either way, they were invited so I guess it doesn't matter. Can you pass me the salt?"

Serenity nodded as she grabbed the table salt and handed it to Rick who grumbled about his cooking never being right. The others heard him and told him that the food was fine but he wouldn't have it, vowing that he would take cooking class when he could. Suddenly, Xeron appeared, crazy as always (he was tested and was actually half crazy), with a large camera.

"Say "cheese" people!" he announced before taking the picture, blinding some of them.

The photo came out of the slip in front of the camera and he grabbed it carefully. After several seconds, the picture was clear and one could see the whole group with surprised looks and Jean with a drumstick sticking out the corner of his mouth. Xeron laughed heartily and walked off, leaving them with confused looks. Rick rolled his eyes and continued eating.

"Senile coot." he jokingly muttered.

At that moment, his head snapped forward as pieces of the camera fell to the floor below him. This surprised the others and Rick got out of his seat with a furious expression, rolling up his nonexistent sleeves and walked towards a laughing Xeron.

"Here we go again." Alara said with a roll of the eyes as well as a smile as Xeron flew past her and crashed somewhere outside.

The others sweatdropped and decided to resume eating. They enjoyed their meal with a few more moments of silence until Ragna, finished and wanting to strike a conversation, suddenly nudged Aurora with his arm.

"Say, Saphira and I are headed back to Alagaësia soon after this. You want to come with?" he asked as Saphira looked at Aurora excitedly.

Aurora was surprised by the sudden offer and thought about it for a moment before shaking her head sadly.

"I would but Ryker is still in critical care and they haven't found any improvements on his condition." she said barely above a whisper.

This saddened Ragna and Saphira and they looked at their plates distantly. The others noticed this and remained silent, knowing that the subject of Ryker was probably brought up unintentionally. All of a sudden, everyone save for Aurora stopped eating and paled with shock. Aurora began to panic, noticing that the crystal rose was no longer on the table. She tried to look for it but froze as a pair of warm hands placed the rose on her hair before adjusting it.

"There. Now you won't end up losing it." a familiar voice sounded behind her.

Aurora turned rigid and slowly turned around, finally stopping to see a smiling Ryker in a suit. For a moment, no one said anything due to their major shock but that wasn't for long as Aurora suddenly bursted in tears as she embraced Ryker with a hug that could rival a Urasing.

"Ryker!" Aurora cried out as she hugged him, not having a care if she was making a scene in front of everyone.

Ryker chuckled and hugged her back, kissing her crest and forehead before waving to the others. They all suddenly smiled and cheered, happy that he made it through his comatose state. All of a sudden, Aurora punched him in the stomach making him double over in pain.

"You were in a coma for two months!" Aurora said with an angry tone whilst sniffling.

Ryker held up his hands in defense and tried to recover but she again, punched him but this time his arm.

"Do you know how worried I was? How worried we all were? Do you?" she continued.

The others started to question the scene, wondering if they should feel bad for the fact that Ryker stabbed himself in the chest or the fact that Aurora was chewing him out. Ryker recovered and was about to step back to dodge an incoming blow but Aurora instead hugged him again, finally calmed down a bit.

"Don't you ever do that again. I don't know what I'd do without you." she whispered with a sob.

Ryker hugged her and led her back to her seat. When he tried to seat her, she instead made him sit and she took a seat on his lap, content. At that moment, Maiyu and Sheerah went up to him and hugged him happily.

"It's great to have you back, Alpha!" Maiyu cheered.

"A-A-Alpha!" Sheerah stuttered as she cheered as well.

Ryker chuckled and ruffled the both of their heads. He then returned his attention to the rest of the group and stopped smiling as a fact suddenly registered in his head.

"I was in a coma for two months?" he asked them.

They nodded and he looked down, shaking his head as he tried to calm down. Being in a coma was a 50-50 sort of thing where you have a chance to die and an equal or lower chance of waking up. Ryker didn't like those odds and found it lucky that he didn't end up doing the former.

"So how am I still alive?" he asked, this time receiving his answer from only Princess.

"She shocked you back to life, of course! It was just like that Frankenstein movie except you're not a walking dead and sewn up monster!" she said happily.

Ryker looked at Aurora with a questioning expression. She blushed in embarrassment and looked down, avoiding his gaze.

"I kind of forced my brother to send a few **Thunder** attacks to your heart. I knew your body was tough so I knew that attacking you with a move like that wouldn't harm your body." she said meekly.

Ryker raised his eyebrows, genuinely surprised that such of thing actually worked. He then shook his head and looked at Rick and Alara with a hopeful expression.

"I know I wasn't invited but may I join you all?" he asked, earning a chuckle from Rick.

"Of course you can join us! Grab a plate and eat up since I'm sure you're hungry, sleeping for two months without eating like that." Alara answered.

Ryker nodded with a smile and Aurora got up, grabbing his hand and led him to one of the tables of food. When they came back, Ragna looked at them with a hopeful expression.

"So, how about it? You guys wanna come and check out Alagaësia?" he asked.

Aurora looked excited and nodded, wondering if Alagaësia was as beautiful as they say. Ryker, however, looked conflicted and didn't want to answer. However, he kept it hidden and they luckily didn't notice. Ragna smiled and looked at Saphira who also smiled with a "Yes!"

After they ate, Rick and Alara, unfortunately for Ryker, suggested karaoke to their guests. Aurora immediately got excited and looked at Ryker who VERY surprisingly agreed without a fight. He told her that he figured that if it made her happy, he wouldn't mind doing it receiving a few "aww" from the females of the group.

Rick took to the stage and cleared his throat, ready to dazzle the crowd.

 **"Somebody"**

"

[Rick]

I wanna rock with somebody (whoah yeah)

I wanna take shots with somebody (shots, shots, shots, shots)

I wanna leave with somebody (somebody, comm'on, comm'on)

And we ain't gonna tell nobody, we ain't gonna tell nobody (nobody)

(Alara teleports to his side)

[Alara] (Rick sings parentheses)

Walking everybody knows what's good

But some gonna hate what's new

We just do our thing no time to waste

Always playing cool

And at the end of the night when the lights go out, will we turn down?

Oh no we won't (we'll never turn it down, we'll never turn it down)

And when they try to make us leave we turn to say we never going home

[Rick]

And you know just what I wanna do

I wanna rock with somebody (whoah yeah)

I wanna take shots with somebody (shots, shots, shots, shots)

I wanna leave with somebody (somebody, comm'on, comm'on)

And we ain't gonna tell nobody, we ain't gonna tell nobody (nobody)

[Alara] (Rick sings parentheses)

Walking everybody know what's good

We are only block

Bring us everything we think we need

Tonight is going up (tonight is going up)

And at the end of the night when the lights go out, will we turn down?

Oh no we won't (we'll never turn it down, we'll never turn it down)

And when they try to make us leave we turn to say we never going home

[Rick]

And you know just what I wanna do

I wanna rock with somebody (whoah yeah)

I wanna take shots with somebody (shots, shots, shots, shots)

I wanna leave with somebody (somebody, comm'on, comm'on)

And we ain't gonna tell nobody, we ain't gonna tell nobody (nobody)

[Together]

And the club like whoah

We'll be in the party in the club like whoah

And the club like

We'll be in the city going down like whoah

And the club like whoah

We'll be in the party in the club like whoah

We'll be in the city going down like whoah

We'll be in the party in the club like whoah

[Alara] (Rick sings parentheses)

And at the end of the night when the lights go out, will we turn down?

Oh no we won't (we'll never turn it down, we'll never turn it down)

And when they try to make us leave we turn to say we never going home

[Rick]

And you know just what I wanna do."

The crowd cheered and clapped for their rulers. Then, Seras took to the stage.

 **"The Heart Wants What It Wants"**

"You got me sippin' on something

I can't compare to nothing

I've ever known, I'm hoping

That after this fever I'll survive

I know I'm acting a bit crazy

Strung out, a little bit hazy

Hand over heart, I'm praying

That I'm gonna make it out alive

The bed's getting cold and you're not here

The future that we hold is so unclear

But I'm not alive until you call

And I'll bet the odds against it all

Save your advice 'cause I won't hear

You might be right but I don't care

There's a million reasons why I should give you up

But the heart wants what it wants

The heart wants what it wants

You got me scattered in pieces

Shining like stars and screaming

Lighting me up like Venus

But then you disappear and make me wait

And every second's like torture

Heroin drip, no more so

Finding a way to let go

Baby, baby, no, I can't escape

The bed's getting cold and you're not here

The future that we hold is so unclear

But I'm not alive until you call

And I'll bet the odds against it all

Save your advice 'cause I won't hear

You might be right but I don't care

There's a million reasons why I should give you up

But the heart wants what it wants

The heart wants what it wants [3x]

This is a modern fairytale

No happy endings

No wind in our sails

But I can't imagine a life without

Breathless moments

Breaking me down, down, down, down

The bed's getting cold and you're not here

The future that we hold is so unclear

But I'm not alive until you call

And I'll bet the odds against it all

Save your advice 'cause I won't hear

You might be right but I don't care

There's a million reasons why I should give you up

But the heart wants what it wants

The heart wants what it wants [3x]

The heart wants what it wants, baby

It wants what it wants, baby

It wants what it wants [2x]"

Next, Dartz took to the stage after Ashlyn threatened to freeze him. He cleared his throat and cracked his neck.

 **"Pompeii"**

(Eh-eh-o eh-o )

I was left to my own devices

Many days fell away with nothing to show

And the walls kept tumbling down

In the city that we love

Great clouds roll over the hills

Bringing darkness from above

But if you close your eyes,

Does it almost feel like

Nothing changed at all?

And if you close your eyes,

Does it almost feel like

You've been here before?

How am I gonna be an optimist about this?

How am I gonna be an optimist about this?

We were caught up and lost in all of our vices

In your pose as the dust settled around us

And the walls kept tumbling down

In the city that we love

Great clouds roll over the hills

Bringing darkness from above

But if you close your eyes,

Does it almost feel like

Nothing changed at all?

And if you close your eyes,

Does it almost feel like

You've been here before?

How am I gonna be an optimist about this?

How am I gonna be an optimist about this?

(Eh-eh-o eh-o )

Oh where do we begin?

The rubble or our sins?

Oh oh where do we begin?

The rubble or our sins?

And the walls kept tumbling down (oh where do we begin?)

In the city that we love (the rubble or our sins?)

Great clouds roll over the hills (oh where do we begin?)

Bringing darkness from above (the rubble or our sins?)

But if you close your eyes,

Does it almost feel like

Nothing changed at all?

And if you close your eyes,

Does it almost feel like

You've been here before?

How am I gonna be an optimist about this?

How am I gonna be an optimist about this?

If you close your eyes, does it almost feel like nothing changed at all?

(Eh-eh-o eh-o)

He left the stage with many females crying out for him though were quickly silenced by Ashlyn's icy glare. Aurora then got up to the stage and smiled to the crowd.

 **"Love Me Like You Do"**

"You're the light, you're the night

You're the color of my blood

You're the cure, you're the pain

You're the only thing I wanna touch

Never knew that it could mean so much, so much

You're the fear, I don't care

'Cause I've never been so high

Follow me through the dark

Let me take you past our satellites

You can see the world you brought to life, to life

So love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do

Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do

Touch me like you do, to-to-touch me like you do

What are you waiting for?

Fading in, fading out

On the edge of paradise

Every inch of your skin is a holy grail I've got to find

Only you can set my heart on fire, on fire

Yeah, I'll let you set the pace

'Cause I'm not thinking straight

My head's spinning around I can't see clear no more

What are you waiting for?

Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do (like you do)

Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do

Touch me like you do, to-to-touch me like you do

What are you waiting for?

Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do (like you do)

Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do (yeah)

Touch me like you do, to-to-touch me like you do

What are you waiting for?

I'll let you set the pace

'Cause I'm not thinking straight

My head's spinning around I can't see clear no more

What are you waiting for?

Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do (like you do)

Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do (yeah)

Touch me like you do, to-to-touch me like you do

What are you waiting for?

Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do (like you do)

Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do (oh)

Touch me like you do, to-to-touch me like you do

What are you waiting for?"

The crowd applauded enthusiastically and a few males tried to get her attention but failed. Aurora sat next to Ryker who put on a genuine smile and took to the stage. Already, several females were cooing at the sight of him.

 **"Love Robbery"**

[Ryker]

"My heart was stolen

Uh, I said I got my heart stolen from a robber

With some high heels on

There's nothing I could do I couldn't stop her

From leading me on yeah

It's a love robbery (yeah)

It's a love robbery (lets go)

It's a love robbery (uh)

Yeah

(Everyone was surprised as some dark matter left Ryker's body materialized next to him, making a Ryker clone with a smug look)

[Clone]

OK the sun was setting; it was picture perfect when I met her

She had me telling her and I was gonna be together

Forever? Wait hold up you thought this on the first date

Man I know it's like she got me hooked right away

I, I couldn't see it coming like a sucker punch

Took my heart then she's out that's a hit and run

It's like I'm at the police department happy hearted

Time to figure out how it all started

Uh 6'3 with some attitude

It's all good 'cause honestly I think it's kinda cute

Last seen in a little black dress

Watch out for those eyes 'cause she's armed and dangerous

Like bow, hit you with that one shot (Ryker forms a gun with his hand and shoots it at the audience, making several girls shriek happily)

Hands up she said give me everything you got

And then she'll dip like it never even happened

She could kill with those looks fatal attraction

(Aurora and the others looked shocked, they never knew he was that masterful of his clones as well as surprised he would ever talk like that)

[Ryker]

Uh, I said I got my heart stolen from a robber

With some high heels on

There's nothing I could do I couldn't stop her

From leading me on yeah

It's a love robbery

It's a love robbery

It's a love robbery (yeah)

Yeah

[Clone]

Okay we got a 2-11 in progress

Suspect is beautiful wanted for heart theft

My baby on the run, hold up why did I call her that

She did me so wrong and I still feel like I want her back

Okay I'm getting it back matter of fact

I'm gonna write it all down on a small sheet

Thought she loved me

Now she's just a love thief

I let her in my heart was always open

Now I'm sitting here wondering how she could've stole it

Stole it like a stick up stick up then she pulled the trigger

She had no lipstick and some heels kinda killa

I got love struck hit me good too

Do she love me? Do she love me? I knew.

But that's just how it goes when you fall for a heartstealer

Who's heart hasn't been stolen yet

Scared to open the door won't let nobody in

Yeah but will we ever stop loving, no.

[Ryker]

Uh, I said I got my heart stolen from a robber

With some high heels on

There's nothing I could do I couldn't stop her

From leading me on yeah

It's a love robbery

It's a love robbery

It's a love robbery

Yeah

My heart was stolen"

He earned many cheers from the single women at the party and even a few taken women. He walked back to the group with his clone and noticed their expressions. They asked him whether or not the clone was real and he said that it was a part of his personality he never really uses. Aurora was still speechless when he sat down. The clone dissipated and the dark matter returned to Ryker who simply smiled, a small hint of confidence present.

After the party, Ryker drove the three to the house and though he was in a coma for two months, he was already feeling somewhat tired. He went upstairs to his room and sat on the bed, laying down with a sigh. The door opened and Aurora joined him, resting her head on his chest.

"Excited for Alagaësia?" he asked, receiving a slow nod from his content and happy lover.

He then frowned and gently guided Aurora's face towards his so they could make eye contact.

"Aurora, I'm afraid I can't join you. At least for a while anyways." he said with a sad tone.

Aurora immediately widened her eyes and gave him a look of concern.

"Is this about attacking us two months ago? It wasn't your fault, Ryker. You were just.." she trailed off, noticing his crestfallen expression.

"Kind of, actually. And about attacking you and the others...I can't say in words how sorry I am to you all. The thing is, it was MY fault. At the time, I was so conflicted, so unused to positive attention no matter who it came from. When we mated, I thought that besides the day we became a couple, it was the best day of my life. Actually, when you found me that day of the party when I became part of the council, I was actually bombarded with those dark thoughts." he confessed.

Aurora remained silent though listened to him with utmost attention.

"Like I said before, I was, actually sort of still am, unused to positive attention and was unsure whether or not it was real. I thought that in reality, you all hated or were afraid of me. I thought that maybe out of the kindness of your heart, you got together with me to make me happy. I really didn't know, Aurora, and I was so unsure back then..."

"But we never hated you, Ryker. Even when we found out you were a Fenrir, yes were afraid of the sudden transformation but in the end, we all still know you are the same Ryker. I still and will forever love you and the others would never deceive you like that." Aurora told him.

Ryker looked at her with a thankful expression, closing his eyes and hugging her once more.

"Thank you, Aurora. I know that now even when I should have realized it much earlier."

Aurora nodded with a smile. Though as much as she would enjoy staying in a hug with him like this, she still had to question him.

"So...why can't you go with me?" she asked, actually a little afraid of what he may answer.

Ryker sighed sadly and took a deep breath. He then gave her an apologetic look.

"I'm going to be gone for a year to master my control of my inner darkness." he replied, apprehensive of what may be her reaction.

"...Why?" she asked, surprisingly calm though a bit saddened.

"If I don't master it now, believe it or not, it may happen again though due to different circumstances and reasons. Plus, I have some demons within me to take care of..." he replied, thinking about the lives he had taken.

Aurora took a deep breath and released it, calm and composed. She then looked at Ryker with trusting eyes and rested her head closer to his face on the crook of his neck.

"I trust you, Ryker. As long as you come back to me. As long as you don't leave me. As long as you stay careful though I don't think that seems to be possible since trouble seems to find you." she told him with a small laugh at her laugh statement.

Ryker sighed in relief and chuckled as well before getting them both in a more comfortable position.

"Of course, Milady. And yes, trouble does seem to find me." he replied.

Aurora giggled lightly and kissed him, engaging in a passionate battle of lip-lock with Ryker.


	17. Chapter 1 (DR)

**Season two! Here's Darkness Reborn, everyone!**

 _ **"Loneliness has taken me. Why must I be alone again? Why is it when I have everything I become alone when it is taken from me? When will I feel love again? Loneliness is killing me slowly! It eats away at my emotions! It eats away at my heart! Why doesn't it just take me? Loneliness has consumed everything I am. It has taken my body. It has taken my will. It has consumed my soul."**_

 _ **Loneliness has won this fight, for I have not yet begun to fight back and when that day comes I shall be victorious."**_

 **Chapter 1: Elves and Dwarves On a Daily Basis**

 **A year later...**

Ragna opened his eyes and yawned, a small jet of flame escaped his maw when he did so. He looked to his right to see his beautiful mate sleeping soundly. Next to her was another Drakengard, and his dragon mate.

Their son, Draken, had very dark black-purple scales. He had two black horns that curved backwards and his tail flame sparked purple with a low level of intensity due to him sleeping. Draken then suddenly woke up, his amethyst eyes watered as he yawned like his father. Draken noticed that Ragna was awake and smiled.

 _Morning, father. Did you have a good rest?_ Draken yawned, sleep slowly going away.

Ragna smiled and stretched his neck, wincing as he worked out a kink.

 _Morning, son. And yes, I did sleep well. What about you?_

 _Same...Geez, Lunalesse and mother can sleep like logs, am I right?_

Ragna chuckled, getting up along with Draken. Both avoided waking up their respective mates.

 _Right you are, son. In the mood for breakfast?_

Draken walked out of the cave and stretched, his tail flame burning more intensely now.

 _Sure. By the way, where's Aurora? I didn't see her in the cave._

Ragna looked back at the cave, checking for the missing Islingr Suicune. All of a sudden, a white blur flew above him and landed a few feet away, a deer within her maw. Ragna chuckled as he saw her give him a teasing look.

 _Morning, you two. Just got myself some breakfast._ she chimed.

Aurora, due to training both physically and mentally, evolved again. She now had four ice protrusions, two large ones atop two smaller ones, that stuck out symmetrically from her crest. She also had two ribbon-like wisps that sprouted from the back of her neck to just short of her rump and flowed freely like her tails. Like before, she still had transparent dry ice claws on both legs and spikes sprouting from her shoulders and knees as well as elbows, one on each. She had a ring of wispy hair clumps that, like her mane, flowed from each of her ankles. Her wings were now full of dry ice feathers instead of having one every two or three. Lastly, she had a dry ice shard that rested beautifully in the middle of her crest so whenever she tilted her head in daylight, a glare would be sure to follow.

Darken smiled at her arrival and looked back at the cave to see his golden-scaled mate, Lunalesse, awake and walking towards him with a smile that reached her bright ruby eyes.

 _Mornin' hon._ she sang as she nuzzled his neck and he returned the favor.

Ragna chuckled at the sight and turned to Aurora who began eating her deer.

 _We're going to head off now. If Saphira wakes up before we get back, can you tell her not to worry about hunting and that I'm hunting for her, please?_

Aurora looked up and nodded, just in time to see Lunalesse to smack Draken on the rump with her paw before they took off. Aurora rolled her eyes and returned her attention to Ragna who didn't see the act.

 _No problem, Ragna. I'll be sure to let her know._ she told him.

 _Thanks._ he replied before taking off and flying in the direction of Draken and Lunalesse.

Aurora returned to eating her meal, humming contentedly to herself. She enjoyed her meal as she listened to the sounds of nature all around her. During her time there, she found that Alagaësia was beautiful. It's bountiful forests were always green and full of wildlife, predator or prey. She was also amazed by all the mountain ranges, such as the Beor Mountains, she had visited in the past year or so. And the deserts were actually amazing too. Life including large lizards, cacti that secreted sweet water, and surprisingly many oases that were as large as medium-sized houses were always present. One desert in particular, the Hadarac, had very little to none oases and was littered with carcasses of animals and the like. She encounter strange creatures as well. She ran into a large and starved wolf the other day. It was about half her size in **Natural Form** and had very shaggy gray fur. Like aforementioned, it was very starved and actually tried to snap at her neck but she ended up spraying it away with a torrent of water. Shrrgs were their official species as Ragna informed. Another time, she found a snake in a hole in the ground. As soon as something as small as a mouse passed by, the snake would spring out of the hole with its fangs bared and bite the victim, paralyzing it with its toxins. Aurora nearly fell victim to it that day and from them on, she always made sure that she didn't walk near any abnormal holes in the ground.

Aurora also visited the city of the elves, Ellesméra. The elven population was very hospitable, greeted with respectful hand gestures and bows. They actually surprise her, not being surprised at all though excited that an Islingr Suicune like herself was still existent. Of course, she quickly remember that her species originated from Alagaësia, "Islingr" being an elven word meaning "Light bringer; Illuminator" within the Ancient Language. They praised her and her presence, also made scenes and saying remarks like how she should be royalty since she was the only Islingr Suicune to be alive in over a century. She met with the elven king, Dathedr, who was very humble at her arrival. Though he was only king for about three or so years, his subjects treated him love and respect. Aurora found it amusing whenever she talked to an elf though. Their eloquence and manners reminded her of all the conversations she had with Ryker. Speaking of, though it was only a year that had passed, she missed him deeply. For the first few days, she couldn't get any sleep without him. However, as several days went by afterwards, she assured herself that he'd be back soon and eventually felt better.

Aurora then turned her attention to the cave just in time to see Saphira open her eyes with a small groan.

 _Good morning, Aurora._ Saphira yawned, walking out of the cave with lethargy.

 _Morning! Ragna and the others went off hunting and Ragna's hunting for you right now._ Aurora replied.

Saphira stretched much like a cat and sat down next to Aurora and began tending to her scales, polishing them with her barbed tongue.

 _Oh, Ragna. Ever the charmer. I swear, Draken inherited all of his father's manners and even semi-serious personality. I mean, when he first met Lunalesse, she fell head over heels for him and soon afterwards, he developed feelings for her as well._

Aurora huffed with amusement, finished with her food and now sitting up straight to allow her food to digest properly. She then noticed something off about Saphira...

 _Um...Saphira? I think you should take a look at your snout._

Saphira stopped polishing her scales and crossed her eyes to look at her snout. At the middle of her snout, somewhat noticeable, was a spot that showed a leather hide underneath...a scale was missing.

 _... Oh.._ Saphira replied somewhat distantly.

Saphira then ran into the cave as if she was trying to hide. She hid deep in the cave to the point where one would only see just a sliver of the shine of her scales.

 _Saphira? Are you alright?_ Aurora asked, concern though slightly amused.

 _I can't let anyone see this! It'll be embarrassing!_ the Drakengard replied.

Aurora shook her head whilst rolling her eyes with amusement as Ragna and the others returned from hunting. Ragna had two deer with him, one for Saphira and one for himself. He then set them down before he began walking towards Aurora.

 _Is she up yet?_ he asked her.

Aurora smiled and pointed her muzzle towards the direction of the cave. Ragna nodded and walked towards it, only to get tackled out of the way by Saphira.

 _Don't look at me! Don't look at me!_ she rambled as she hid behind Aurora.

Ragna got up and looked at Aurora with a questioning expression. Draken and Lunalesse stopped what they were doing as well and wondered what was the commotion was about. Ragna then walked up to Aurora and tried to crane his neck over her to see Saphira.

 _Saphira, what's this about? Why are you hiding?_ he asked.

Saphira lowered her head even further and barely spoke above a whisper.

 _I'm missing a scale.._ she muttered in a low tone.

 _What was that? I didn't catch that._

 _I'm missing a scale._ Saphira repeated, this time in a louder tone though still somewhat quiet.

 _What? You should speak up, Saphira._

 _I'm missing a scale!_ she blurted exasperated.

Ragna cocked his head to the side and simply shrugged his soldiers before kindly asking Aurora to move out of the way. She did so and Ragna finally spotted the spot with a missing scale on Saphira. He chuckled and licked at the spot, right on her leathery hide.

 _And? I'm sure it'll grow back soon._ he replied.

Saphira recoiled as he licked the spot, Draken and Lunalesse laughed at the sight.

 _Stop it! It tickles..._ she complained.

Ragna grinned with a sinister expression and pounced on her, tickling that very spot relentlessly.

 _St-St-HAHA-Stop! Rag-HAHAHA-Damn you!_ she iterated as she was assaulted by the prankster.

Later, Draken and Lunalesse were about to take off until they decided to notify the others about it.

 _We're going to go back home, father._ Draken told Ragna as the two hugged.

 _Well make sure you two have a safe flight._ Ragna replied before hugging Lunalesse.

Saphira hugged her son as well, telling him to make sure he behaves and the like earning a chuckle from Ragna and a smile from Aurora. She then hugged Lunalesse, telling her to take care of Draken. Draken heard this and tried to defend himself but they laughed it off. The two finally left and Ragna turned to his mate and close friend.

 _You two want to head over to Ellesméra with me? I'm about to head over there to have a meeting with Dathedr._ he offered.

 _Sure._ Saphira replied _I have an appointment with Nasuada anyways and I think she's there today._

Aurora nodded, preparing her wings for flight.

 _I don't mind going there again. It's always bustling with something outlandish._ she replied.

Ragna nodded and took flight, the two females following after him. They didn't have to fly far since Ellesméra was only a short distance away though they still flew due to it being about ten miles away. They landed near the gates of the city, each getting in their human forms. Ragna walked up to the guard and gave an elven salute, the guard responding in kind. The elf ordered his colleagues to open the gates and a large drawbridge came down for use. Ragna thanked the guard and started walking across the drawbridge along with Saphira and Aurora. When they entered, there was a cluster of elves, humans, and dwarves alike in the streets. They were trading, conversing, and the like. The city had a nice diverse population though the majority being elves and humans. Aurora spotted a few Urgals, or Kulls, browsing a merchant's wares, pointing at something that interested them every once in a while.

Kulls were large and muscular orc like beings. They used to be all enslaved for dirty work by the dead tyrant, Galbatorix, but were released after the war. Their appearance were usually as follows: Very tall, ranging from six to nine feet in height. They were somewhat dark-skinned though there's the occasional light-skinned Kill. The had small horns that sprouted out of their heads to the side as well as two large fang-like teeth protruding from their lower jaw. Kulls also had fur skins as clothing and the usual animal skulls for necklaces. If one were to make friends with one, they could find a light-hearted and amiable Kull that would be extremely loyal no matter the case.

Anyways, Ragna and the two split up, him heading to the king's abode and the girls heading elsewhere. Aurora and Saphira decided to browse around, looking at interesting wares and people. They spotted an elven woman who had strange purple tattoos all over her body. Whenever she picked up a writing utensil, such as a quill or paintbrush, the tattoos would glow and an image would suddenly appear onto the paper or canvas. Another time, they encounter a man that could impale himself without feeling any pain. They checked to make sure he wasn't using magic and it turns out that he was genuine. They also encountered a dwarf and claimed to be the most flexible person in the world. Skeptical, especially since he was a dwarf and dwarves are usually robust though rigid, Aurora and Saphira decided to humor him. What they saw the next few moments were strange yet amazing. The dwarf got on one leg and took his other and wrapped it around his neck. He then took both of his arms and put them behind his back then flipping them around and covered his eyes with his hands. He then got on his stomach and did a trunk lift, the back of his neck touching his other foot. He then unwrapped himself and stood up, bowing. The two had their mouths agape but Saphira ended up tipping him some silver coins for greatly entertaining them. Aurora got extremely excited at one time, spotting someone who very much looking like Ryker from behind. She rushed over to the unsuspecting man and nearly fainted from embarrassment when she figured out it was just a random stranger and apologized. When she returned to Saphira, the dragoness erupted in a fit of laughter, making Aurora even more embarrassed.

"Stop laughing already! At least I don't have a missing scale." Aurora remarked with a sinister smile.

Saphira then suddenly gasped and felt around her face, obviously forgetting that she was in her human form. Saphira then relaxed after realizing that and glared at Aurora who snickered. Aurora then suddenly stopped as she felt a hand gripped her shoulder. She turned around and was surprised to see the man she had run into just moments earlier. He, like Ryker, had multiple scars though they ran across his face though in zigzags. He had an unkempt beard and thick mustache. Aurora felt that he had an air of negativity, mostly lust and greed, from him.

"Hello, fair lady. May I interest you to lunch?" the man asked, seeing to be more calm than most whenever she was spoken to which meant he didn't know what she really was.

Aurora shook her head with an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, I'm taken by another." she replied and secretly hoped that he would go away.

However, the man wasn't willing to give up that easily and smiled, trying to seduce her with his surprisingly clean and pearl-like teeth. However, Aurora wasn't affected by this and acted as if she didn't notice that supposedly seductive smile.

"Are you just playing hard to get? Unless you're homosexual and in a relationship with the lady behind you, I just think you don't want to give me a chance." he replied.

Aurora inwardly groaned, not wanting to go through with this but also not wanting to make a scene.

"I AM taken and I DO have a lover. He's just... not... here.." she trailed off, suddenly somewhat saddened.

"Hm.. I still don't believe that." he replied.

Saphira suddenly intervened, barely able to restrain herself from growling.

"Hey, leave her alone. She does have a boyfriend and you are really annoying us right now." she remarked.

The man suddenly scowled, redirecting his attention on Aurora. He then grabbed her wrist, his grip a little too hard for a friendly conversation.

"I think it'd be best if you come with me to my home. Don't want anyone to get hurt." he whispered huskily with a hint of sinister tone.

Aurora suddenly grabbed his arm and flipped him onto his stomach onto the ground. She then wrapped one of her legs around the back of his neck and grabbed his arm, twisting it and causing multiple cracks to sound from him as well as a shout of pain from him.

"Try to touch me like that again and you'll lose both of your hands." Aurora warned with a growl.

She then let him go and began to walk away with Saphira. They thought they were in the clear but turned around when they heard a screech. They found that it came from the man and were shocked to see him in a transformation. His whole body turned black and he grew two wings. His face contorted and a beak formed onto his face. The sclera of his eyes turned yellow and his pupils turned to that of slits. He grew talons and feathers covered his now quadrapedel body.

"You WILL come with me!" he rasped, apparently able to talk in this form.

Saphira paled and took a step back.

"A Lightstalker!" she gasped as it lunged towards them.

All of a sudden, and this happened when Aurora blinked so she didn't see it herself, the Lightstalker was suspended in the air, seeming to be choking. Aurora took a second to notice that he was indeed choking, gasping for air as well as for his life. The reason he was choking surprised Aurora even more. He was being held by the neck, a hand with a tight grip on it and though the sleeves of the jacket covered most of the arm, three black pointed tribal lines stopping just before the fingers of the hand. Her eyes widened even further as she looked at the owner and saw that it was coincidentally, her mate.

Ryker now had two lines pointing inwards on his face per side instead of one. His hair was slighter longer, reaching to the base of his neck, and the front as well as the top was spiked upwards. He now had a mustache, well kept and not bushy or thick at all but just the right amount. Aurora felt intimidated, the sclera of his eyes turned black for moment though his irises remained white. He was wearing a black t-shirt underneath an unbuttoned collared long-sleeve black shirt. He wore dark denim jeans with a wolf-head chain attached to one of the pockets. Smoke can be seen coming from Ryker's nose as well as his mouth somewhat.

He lifted the Lightstalker even higher and tightened his grip.

" _You shouldn't have done that, insect."_ Ryker spoke while using his language of the Fenrir.

The Lightstalker would have paled if he still had skin and tried to plead.

"I'm sorry, Milord! I didn't intend to-" the creature choked but Ryker began tightening his grip again.

He lowered the Lightstalker to his face and growled, a small jet of flame escaping his mouth, scaring the living hell out of the dark being.

 _"Too late. You should noticed her scent and figured out that I marked her. Also, she's MY mate and if I heard correctly, you were trying to seduce her. You're lucky, for if she wasn't kind-hearted, she would have given you a thorough beating. As for myself,"_ Ryker growled, _"I'll be merciful."_

Ryker's eyes then seemed to pull the Lightstalker in a trance before the black feathered being suddenly burnt up from the inside out, no evidence left to claim that he was here.

Ryker's eyes then turned back to normal after he blinked. He then turned his attention to Aurora who lunged at him with arms spread. Ryker chuckled and embraced her with a smile.

"I'm back." he told her in English as she embraced him as well.

"I missed you and all but we need to stop reuniting during fights." Aurora replied warmly with a small joking tone.

Saphira smiled and waved at him to which he waved back. He then took a look at the area around him, taking in the sight.

"Ellesméra... It's busy here." he told them.

Later as they caught up with each other with the events of the past year, Aurora suddenly gave him a questioning look.

"What is exactly is the Fenrir language?" she asked.

At this, Ryker took a moment to think about it and continued to walk with them, ignoring those that were staring at them for the scene they caused.

"My language is officially called Lupinovanese, a series of growls and snarls as well as other canine noises. It can be understood by all canine species even if they don't know the language. As for other species, like yourself, I enabled all of you and others to understand it. Umbrilic, "Umbra" being the root word meaning darkness or shadow is the language of true darkness, me being the only one able to speak it. Not even my family spoke it and it took me years of being one with darkness to learn it. It can be understood by all species and so I integrated it with Lupinovanese, making the final language, Umbralupinese, as I dubbed it. Being the only one who can speak it, all beings of darkness could recognize me if I spoke it. All beings of light, that I know of save for you and a certain few, cringe in pain as the darkness of the language pierce their ears. Lupinovanese and Umbrilic both are languages of darkness and would hurt the ears of those of light much more. Anyways, most if not all beings of darkness fear me and trust me, I know, and they always seem to retreat or attack me out of fear when they find me. If they do neither, like that Lightstalker, they usually submit and actually pray to Arceus that I won't kill them. I, however, ignore them if I ever encounter them but if they pose a threat, I terminate them. I find it horrifying that even dark beings fear me..." he trailed off.

Aurora tried to change the subject and decided to ask about what exactly a Lightstalker is.

"A Lightstalker, are bird-like beings of darkness that find and try to kill any threatening being of light. When they kill whatever they needed to kill, they would consume the being's heart and absorb the power. The fact that they're now hunting for you now worries me. I hope you won't mind but I will be even MORE in guard around all of you." he answered.

Aurora shook her head and smiled, not minding at all that he would be constantly around her. They then turned to see Ragna walking towards them.

"Well that's done. So-... Hey Ryker, how are you doing?"

Ryker flinched at the use of his name but answered anyways.

"Well, thank you. And can I ask you three a small favor?" he queried.

They looked at him curiously and he seemed to look crestfallen,looking down at the stone pavement underneath them.

"Please don't call me by that name anymore. That is the name given to me by my parents and after all that happened in the past several years, I realized that I don't deserve to be called by it..." he explained.

The others remained silent, not sure how to take his sudden explanation. Ragna then coughed and extended his hand.

"Anyways, it's nice to see you again, Alpha." he stated.

"Likewise." Ryker, no, Alpha replied.

Saphira then nudged Ragna and arched her eyebrow.

"So, what was the meeting about?" she asked as they continued to walk.

Ragna sighed and looked at the sun, smiling a little when he reminisced about the day when he and Saphira first met. It was on a sunny day exactly like this and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. He then returned his attention to his mate and answered her question.

"We went over alliances with some Kull cults arriving to the city in two days. That, and the investigation of the strange murders..."

He trailed off at the last statement, seeming distant. Alpha noticed this and the topic piqued his interest.

"Strange murders?" he asked Ragna who snapped out of it.

Ragna nodded and held up four fingers, a morbid expression present on his face.

"There were four murders, all of which no evidence of the killer or killers were found. Each victim was mutilated horribly, their eyeballs poked out and multiple holes peppered their bodies. Some actually were dismembered or decapitated though they weren't clean cuts so magic wasn't involved. Also, they each had a small handful of insects within their bodies. We are currently investigating the cases but have no current leads so far."

Alpha frowned as the other two looked horrified. Alpha then began tapping his foot against the ground in thought.

"Do you still have the bodies? Or did you already bury them?" he suddenly asked, surprising Ragna.

"Yeah, we do, but they are being preserved right now so that we may be able to find some evidence. Until then, they won't be buried or cremated. Why do you ask?" the Drakengard replied.

"Take me to one of them." Alpha replied immediately.

Ragna led them to the area the were keeping the bodies. He opened one of the caskets and revealed a victim, badly mutilated and caked with dry blood. She was missing both eyes and her throat was torn out viciously. Her face and chest area was littered with holes and Alpha spotted a cockroach crawling out of her mouth and into her nose. They weren't fazed by the sight, they've fought for their lives before and seeing a dead elf before them was one of the lesser gruesome sights.

Ryker examined the body, making mental notes to himself and making sure he wasn't missing a single spot...even though the victim was only wearing a loincloth and a bra. He then frowned, withdrawing and earning looks of curiosity from the three behind him. He then sniffed the corpse, recoiling immediately afterwards with a growl.

"Ra'zac." he stated with finality.

Ragna and Saphira growled as well but Aurora, tired of being the only one left clueless, sighed exasperated and gave Alpha a questioning look.

"Ra'zac, terrible beings that are humanoid in appearance. They are made by black magic, mostly by Shades, and are fairly difficult to kill. They have beaks like a bird and their bodies are crawling with insects of various kinds. Also, most of them have hidden blades for weapons but in this case, they pecked out her eyes. When you encounter a Ra'zac, you better hope their parents, the Lethrblaka, aren't nearby." he explained.

Aurora nodded in understanding and tried not to let her mind run wild about the possible appearance of Lethrblaka.

"Have you encountered Ra'zac before? You seem to know a lot about them." Saphira queried.

"Indeed, on one of my last missions though they weren't here but in England. They were targeting the Queen of England but I managed to burn them to a crisp. Nasty little buggers." he remarked with a British accent in his last statement to prove that he indeed went to Britain.

The others were slightly surprised by this but didn't question him about it, finding no reason that he would make it up. In fact, they doubted that he would ever lie to them like that. Alpha then took a step back and threw his arm out towards them in a halting gesture. The body of the elf suddenly moved, as well as the two in the open caskets. They looked on with shock as the stomachs of the three dead victims started bulging and little cries of bird-like nature sounded within. Then, horrifyingly, the stomach of the elf in front of them tore apart, a small beak emerging from the center. It squawked and two small insect-covered hands rose from the stomach and proceeded to continue opening up the stomach.

"There were Ra'zac eggs in the bodies! We have to kill them before they fully hatch!" Alpha informed as he took a step forward to the body before them.

Ragna nodded and went to the other bodies which were closely next to each other. Alpha held out one of his hands and in a split second, the horror within the elven woman's body burned and bubbled, leaving a foul stench in the large room they were in. Ragna did the same with the other two hatchling Ra'zac and fried them both with energy waves of light, doing effective damage to both of the tiny monsters. The room was filled with ear-piercing screeches of agony as the three baby Ra'zac slowly died off. Alpha then frowned, growling for a second.

Alpha then left the area in a veil of shadows, leaving them surprised and alone.

 **A couple of hours later...**

They were flying around trying to look for him until finally, they spotted him in the western side of Du Weldenvarden, looking at tracks that looked recently made.

 _You should warn us next time before you go off like that._ Aurora told him as she landed with Ragna and Saphira, her voice laced with concern.

Alpha looked at her with a serious expression and gestured to the tracks.

"Sorry about that. But the reason I left is because I felt a presence that was VERY similar to the Ra'zac I encountered in the past. I came here as soon as I can but it seems like they're not here anym-."

Alpha's head then snapped towards the area ahead of them and he ran off, the others following close behind. As they ran a bit further, Aurora spotted two figures, both reeking of blood and covered with dirt and insects. She then realized that they were the aforementioned Ra'zac and prepared herself for battle. They were about as tall as her, being around seven feet tall in height. However, that was all she could make out before Alpha suddenly tackled the both of them in a flaming charge. They screeched as they burned and Alpha quickly followed it up by ramming them into a tree. The tree splintered and fell over and Alpha jumped back from it as it toppled.

All of a sudden, the Ra'zac screeched loudly into the sky and pools of darkness began to form around them. Unfortunately, Lightstalkers crawled out of them, screeching as they did so. Alpha summoned both of his swords, prepared to fight them off. Aurora summoned her armor and bared her teeth, her icy breath visible with each exhale. Ragna and Saphira stood back to back and growled as Lightstalkers as large as the two Drakengards themselves began to form.

 _"Kill them!"_ one of the Ra'zac rasped.

The Lightstalkers all attacked at once, aiming to win by overwhelming the four. Alpha then growled and drove both of his swords into the ground. Right before the Lightstalkers were able to make contact with them, the ground cracked and great tongues of black flames as well as terrifying wisps of shadows repelled them. Some burned and died instantly while others lay dead or limped away with severed limbs.

The great forest was then filled with cries of pain and screeching, as well as trees splintering and small explosions. The thing was, Lightstalkers were somewhat easier to deal with. Therefore, killing them was trivial and almost effortless for the four. However, Ra'zac were a different situation.

Alpha blocked a jab from one of the Ra'zac, parrying it with ease. He then ducked, as a Lightstalker tried to tackle him from behind. The Lightstalker crashed into the Ra'zac, sending them tumbling into a tree. Alpha then turned to his left and saw Aurora fending off one of the colossal Lightstalkers, freezing one of its legs and shattering as well as sending the giant to its knees. Alpha then returned his attention to the Ra'zac before him and sidestepped as a dagger aimed for his face flew by. He then turned his head back around to see the Ra'zac leap at him, beak prepared to peck him to death. Alpha had no time to react and threw up his hands defensively as a last resort, grappling the disgusting creature as they rolled down the path.

Aurora growled as the giant Lightstalker before her stepped closer. Saphira growled as well, ready to attack with Aurora at any moment. However, that window of opportunity was quickly closing as the smaller Lightstalkers surrounded them, all ready to attack at once if they needed to. They just kept coming back, spawning from the pools of darkness around the area. Aurora then suddenly had an idea, covering herself with a screen of light.

 _Stick close to me!_ she told Saphira as she charged.

Saphira ran after Aurora and stuck close to her like the Islingr Suicune directed. As they charged, all Lightstalkers that got too close backed off with pain as Aurora's light barrier scorched their skins. Aurora then stopped in front of the many pools of darkness, Saphira stopping as well and also wondering why.

 _If they are weak to light, then maybe..._ she muttered experimentally as she shot a powerful beam of light at the spawning pool.

The pool contorted as if unstable then dispersed, disappearing and cutting off that spawning point for the Lightstalkers. Aurora grinned triumphantly and located the other pools, finding seven more. Three of them were close to her and the other four were in Ragna's area, who was fighting off a giant Lightstalker and some normal sized Lightstalkers by himself. Aurora then looked at Saphira and nodded, then took off to one of the closer pools of darkness as well as dispatching Lightstalkers left and right as they went.

Ragna saw what Aurora did to one of the spawning points and mentally facepalmed, wondering why he hadn't thought of that before. He ducked as the giant Lightstalker swung its large talons at him. Ragna retaliated by firing a large beam of light wrapped in torrents of blue flames at the giant's chest, hitting his mark directly. The large Lightstalker groaned in pain and fell onto its back, melting and disappearing in dispersed wisps of shadows as it died. Ragna then turned around and swiped at two small Lightstalkers, decapitating them. With them out of the way, he ran past their disappearing bodies and stopped before a pool of darkness. He charged light energy within his maw and released it, destroying the spawning point as well as killing a few unsuspecting Lightstalkers in the process.

Ragna and Aurora met up in the middle of the battle and went to each of the pools of darkness, destroying each of the spawning points and reducing the number of Lightstalkers in the area. Saphira helped out as well, flying through the sky and bathing Lightstalkers in flames and sometimes in ice. She also took down any Lightstalker in flight, making them spiral down towards the ground and crash into some unlucky enemies. Ragna and his two fire-wielding companions, however, made sure their attacks didn't emit too much fire or start a forest fire for that would not make any of the elves next door happy. Soon, the spawning pools of darkness of the Lightstalkers were all taken care of and there were little to none Lightstalkers left in that area.

Alpha unleashed a torrent of black flames from his maw, the hellfire instantly reducing the Ra'zac to nothing. He then stood up from after being knocked to the ground and dusted off his clothes. He then, with a sudden realization, scanned the area for the _second_ Ra'zac, only to figure out that it most likely escaped the moment the Lightstalkers appeared.

"Damnation." he muttered under his breath and sniffed the air, finding the scent trail of the Ra'zac but found that it was already disappearing, thus meaning that it was either teleporting out of the area or summoned away by its master being more likely the latter.

Speaking of, Alpha thought for a moment as he blocked off an attack from one of the last Lightstalkers and killed it and wondered who or what summoned the two, now one, Ra'zac in the first place as well as why. He then thought about one of the last things that dead Ra'zac told him before it died.

" _Master would reward us greatly for killing you and your friends. He would also reward us even more if we captured the dragoness alive. If we brought her back to Master Sha-"_ it had told him but was cut off when Alpha tackled it.

Alpha scolded himself, thinking that he should have waited for the Ra'zac to finish talking before incinerating it immediately afterwards. He then turned around as Aurora and the others walked up to him.

 _Looks like that's all of them._ Saphira remarked as she scanned the area around them.

"One of the Ra'zac escaped. Its master summoned it away from us." Alpha told them.

 _Its master?_ Ragna asked as he tended to one of his injured wings.

 _Of course! Why would, after all this time since the war with Galbatorix ended, they all of sudden attack? Someone must've summoned them in order to reach his or her goal._ Aurora threw in, earning a nod of agreement from Alpha.

"Yes, but the question is who and why that person summoned them. Hmm..Saphira?" Alpha announced as he recalled the Ra'zac mentioning something about her.

 _Yes? What is it?_ she asked with a curious tone.

"Did you do or say anything or anyone that may have compelled them to send the Ra'zac after you?" Alpha asked with a tone of curiosity as well as concern.

Saphira was surprised by the sudden question and thought about any recent run-ins with anyone in the past year or so.

 _No, not recently anyways._ she replied with a quizzical look.

Alpha frowned and looked at them, letting them know that it was a serious matter indeed.

"Ragna, who were the victims back at the mortuary? The ones I inspected?" he suddenly asked.

Ragna cocked his head at an angle and stopped tending to his wing.

 _I believe one was Saphira's groomer assigned by the king, the second was the architect for redesigning the city to make it easier for any passing dragons to actually walk in, and the last was a dwarven ironsmith who made large jewelry for dragons. Why?_

Alpha nodded and sat on one of the recently made stumps that he unintentionally created during the fight. It was good, yes, that the population of dragons increased since the war but he couldn't help but to think… He then looked at Ragna again.

"Did the three had any enemies? Are there any others murdered or reported of attempted murder?" he asked.

 _No, the three victims were by far some of the nicest as well as the most amiable of people I know. As for other cases, no. There hasn't been any other murders or attempted murder. Why do you ask?_ Ragna responded.

Alpha nodded once more, this time with confidence. He then stood up and began to walk back to the elven city.

"When we get back, notify all workers that work with or help with any dragon-related activity to stay in their homes and stay alert. Arm themselves even. Whoever summoned the Ra'zac wasn't someone who was angered recently but rather, someone who harbored a grudge for dragons for a long time. More specifically, Saphira." he replied.

The others looked at each other then at Saphira alarmed then quickly followed Alpha back to Ellesméra.

 **Later in the afternoon…**

"Thank you for alerting us of this breakthrough." Dathedr told them with a hand gesture of respect.

They were in the king's palace in his office room.

He then looked at Alpha who was as emotionless as ever and cocked an eyebrow.

"You are their ally, I suppose?" he asked.

"I am. I go by the name of Alpha Fang, it's a pleasure to be acquainted with you, Milord." Alpha replied.

At the mention of Alpha's name, Dathedr paled then suddenly beamed with overwhelming happiness.

"The Alpha? The one that demolished the army of Ra'zac some time ago elsewhere?" Dathedr asked, almost giddy.

The others looked at them questioningly and he looked at them as if saying "Please don't ask." He then returned his attention to Dathedr and nodded.

"The very same but that's besides the matter. Is there anyone that you know of with a deep hatred of dragons or anyone adept at dark magic?"

Dathedr calmed down and thought to himself for a moment, fiddling with his pointed ears as he did so.

"No, there isn't any at least that I know of." he replied.

Alpha nodded then bowed, proceeding to walk out of the room.

"Wait! May I interest you all with a royal dinner tonight? There will be nobles and the like and I'm sure they would love to meet the famous four of you." Dathedr suddenly offered.

Alpha stopped, about to refuse the offer but then began considering. Aurora looked at him, knowing that he didn't like to be the center of attention so she figured that he would decline. He then surprised all of them by nodding.

"I would be honored to attend. And what kind of dinner, may I ask?" he replied.

"A ballroom dinner. There will be dancing and music." Dathedr replied, his excitement barely contained.

Alpha then nodded and walked out with the others. As they walked down the hallway towards the exit, Ragna was the first one to break the silence as he turned back into his Drakengard form with Saphira as well.

 _Are you really going to go?_ he asked. _I have no problems with it and I think I speak for the others as well._

Aurora nodded before she transformed into her **Altered Form** and Saphira nodded as well.

"It would be beneficial to us. We'll be enjoying the dinner and who knows? Maybe our culprit will attend as well." Alpha replied.

This earned expressions of understanding from the others and Saphira threw in a remark.

 _At least they called us famous though really it surprised me that word of The Alpha spread to them as well._ she remarked.

Alpha chuckled though it was humorless.

"Well they obviously never found out the real reason _why_ I'm famous." he added as they exited the palace.

 _Didn't he say something about an army of Ra'zac?_ Aurora queried.

Alpha nodded and looked at the sky, smiling at the dark orange moon as it was at its prime.

"Indeed. Though it wasn't here but in Thedas, somewhere I went for a mission. I really didn't mean for news about me to spread though I guess if I transformed during the battle, they wouldn't be excited to see me at the dinner tomorrow night." he replied.

He then stepped to the side as a couple of royal elven children ran past them.

"The Ra'zac were trying to populate elsewhere, I'm assuming due to the war. They were also feeding and laying eggs in the population so I was assigned to put a stop to that. I guess I'm more of a freelancer mercenary than a Knight." he continued as began to leave the area.

Ragna wondered if Alpha was still considered a Legendary since that day in SInnoh. Alpha caught this stray thought and sighed.

"I am. In fact, I tried to relinquish my own status of being so but Lord and Lady Arceus wouldn't have it. I asked them if I at least get punished and they let me off after a few reluctant whip slashes to my back." he stated.

Ragna paled and was about to apologize and Aurora and Saphira were about to ask if he was serious but they were interrupted by a fair-skinned elven woman. Judging by the tiara on her head, they figured she was the princess of the elves, daughter of Dathedr.

"Greetings, Sir Fang." she announced with a curtsy.

Alpha gave a small bow and gave her his signature calm expression.

"Milady, it's a pleasure to meet you. However, may I ask why you are out here instead of safely within the castle walls?" he replied.

The princess, who seemed to be in her early twenties, giggled and shook her head.

"I always take afternoon walks out here in Ellesméra. Plus, I happen to be one of the best magisters here as well as adept with a staff. So, my father allowed me to live by myself and wander around without bodyguards...after some convincing of course." she answered.

She then gave him a warm smile which, for some reason, sent Aurora on edge.

"I overheard that you will be participating in the royal ball and dinner?" she asked with a small tone of hope.

"I am and I assume you will be there too?" Alpha affirmed.

"Naturally. Anyways, the real reason I'm out here is to just see how you are. And from the looks of it, I really hope you will indeed, come to the dance." she responded.

She then unexpectedly leaned in a gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, surprising them all greatly, especially Alpha, and nearly sent Aurora on a bloody rage but Saphira was already on her holding her back.

"Oh, my name is Leafa, pleasure to meet you as well." she added.

She then bowed and walked away, leaving them to ponder about what just happened.

 _Well...that was interesting._ Ragna remarked.

 **Nighttime and at the palace…..**

"I swear, if she does that to you again, I won't be held responsible for what I would do to her." Aurora seethed as they entered the palace.

She wore a nice black dress that split underneath her knees, allowing her to slightly reveal her left leg. She also wore two dazzling sapphire studded earrings that Alpha bought for her earlier that morning. Aurora wore two satin sleeves that ended in a triangle tip on the back of her hands as well as her palms. She wore two white heels in contrast to her dress and her necklace shined brightly as she stepped into the lights of the chandeliers. Her tiara was present and shined brightly as well. Lastly, she wore her bracelets and anklets that Alpha made for her as part of her armor.

Aurora attracted the attention of both males and females of the three different races. She also attracted some Urgals though they tried not to show it. They watched her, women with jealousy and men with want. She tried to ignore them though and focused on walking.

"She probably didn't know that you already stole my heart." Alpha replied, his arm wrapped around hers.

He was wearing a noble style outfit that included a large black coat that extended all the way down to a little past his calves that split into two at his waist as well as the back at his ankles. The coat had a closed collar that covered his head from the chin down that somewhat splitted down his neck stopping just before his collar bone. He also wore a plain gray shirt underneath as well as black jeans with a belt. His swords, as customary and as a sign of respect for the elves for they like to know who were the swordsmen of the guests, were sheathed and placed crossed on his back. His fingerless gloves were donned and his black boots that his pant legs covered from the ankle up. There were black metal plating on all sides of his shirt, the shoulders and elbows of his coat, the knuckles of his gloves, the knees and shins of his pants, and the toe area of his boots. There was black metal plating on the sheaths of his swords as well though covering them completely. Alpha found that he liked the outfit and decided to wear it from now on during his travels.

Alpha attracted many stares as well, stares of infatuation and lust from the women and stares of slight fear and awe from the men.

"I don't know how Ragna and Saphira got used to all of this attention." she complained though smiled at Alpha's last comment about her earning his affections in a "heart robbery."

"We have to remember that they lived here for most of their lives." he replied as they maneuvered around both men and women.

They met up Ragna and Saphira in a clearing devoid of people in the building. Ragna was wearing a white coat with silver markings and plating on his arms and chest. He wore a black shirt underneath covered by silver plating and white pants covered with silver plating on the sides. He wore black dress shoes and his greatsword hung from his belt, the tip of it barely an inch off the ground. Saphira was wearing a blue dress that revealed her arms, neck, and shoulders as well as her collarbone area. There were black intricate markings on the front of her dress and also were present on her arms. Her dress extended to her ankles though hugged her body nicely. Her heels were half an inch long and looked comfortable, being blue as well like her dress. She wore a necklace that had a blue fireball crystal in the center with silver dragons flying in a circle around it. In the center of the crystal had the image of a dragon with its wings curled up to the sides of its face.

"How were the guests?" Ragna asked jokingly as Aurora and Alpha walked into view.

Aurora gaved him a joking annoyed look and Alpha simply shrugged his shoulders. He then moved out of the way as a couple, nobles, walked by and laughed at whatever seems to be the joke.

"When is Dathedr going to appear?" Alpha asked as they watched the nobles walk away.

"He should be showing up soon. I heard Leafa is here already." Ragna replied though covered his mouth quickly.

Aurora gave a barely audible growl and scanned the area for the elven princess, only to find her already walking towards them! Aurora narrowed her eyes and hugged Alpha's arm even tighter, hoping that it was enough to dismiss the woman. However, Leafa didn't seem to notice it and she bowed to all of them.

"I'm glad you all made it. Although, I have to apologize and ask you to wait for my father to make his appearance." she stated with an apologetic smile.

"It's fine, Milady, you don't have to apologize." Alpha replied as formal as ever, his tone changed from questioning to calm when she appeared.

Aurora wanted to smack Alpha for being friendly to the princess but knew he was only being him, nice, mannered, intimidating, and straight to the point. She loved him with all of her heart though. Aurora did notice, however, Leafa's blush at Alpha's nice comment.

"T-Thank you...Oh! My father is here." she responded as she pointed to the balcony.

Their attention, as well as that of the rest of the guests, turned to the balcony as Dathedr cleared his throat, the noise amplified by vocal magical means.

"I thank and welcome you all tonight and I would also like to announce our special guests here tonight. We have our very own famous Drakengards, Lord White-Death and Lady Bjartskular, attending today!"

A spotlight covered the two and a large round of applause sounded at the announcement. Aurora looked at the two with a smirk.

"You didn't take his last name?" she shouted over the din.

"Staying strong and rebellious!" she replied with a laugh as Ragna chuckled and shook his head.

It was then Alpha noticed a woman next to Dathedr, her teeth gleamed as she smiled and various jewelry on her pointed ears. Alpha assumed it was Dathedr's wife and returned his attention to said king.

"Which is why Draken has both of our last names with a hyphen." Ragna muttered with a smirk as Dethedr cleared his throat again.

"We also have their son and their daughter in law here as well, Please give a round of applause to Draken and Lunalesse White-Death-Bjartskular!" he announced as Ragna laughed with his point was proven just moments later.

They turned their attention to Draken and Lunalesse, both in human forms. Draken had the form of a man of his late teens. He had black hair and his purple eyes shined brightly under the spotlight. His hair was short and only reached down to his ears though was spiked in various directions. He was wearing a suit with plate mail underneath and a sword hung from his belt. Lunalesse smiled and waved, her golden hair flashed and her ruby eyes sparkled. She wore a golden dress studded with rubies and garnets in some places as well as a tiara on her head. The crowd cheered and applauded for the two, quieting down as Dathedr held up his hand as a signal of silence.

"Finally, I would like to announce two more guests, one of which recently moved here a year after the other. The one I'm about to introduce was thought to be extinct and I swear to our ancestors that I nearly fainted from shock. May I introduce Lady Islingr Suicune! Please treat her with utmost respect and such should you run by her!" he announced proudly.

Alpha stepped away for the moment before the spotlight traveled and shined upon Aurora who smiled and curtsied before them respectfully, earning a loud round of cheers from the crowd.

"And I also want to introduce a fabled man, one thought to be an exaggerated legend told by both men and women around the world. Please give a round of applause to one of the Knights of our ally, Lady Arceus, Lord Alpha Fang!" Dathedr added with vigor.

The spotlight went from Aurora to Alpha who was only a few feet away. When it shined on him, he bowed and waved at the crowd, earning an equally large round of applause and even more cheers as he mimiced the elven hand gesture of respect to them. He then remembered that Ragna told him about the alliance between Lady Arceus and the Kings and Queens of the land. Several women, including Leafa to Aurora's major annoyance, gave a few extra cheers as Alpha faked a smile which returned to a calm expression when the spotlight left him.

"Now, let's all enjoy this celebration and we will orchestrate some music for those who would like to dance." Dathedr announced with a laugh as music began playing.

Leafa, upon hearing the music play, brightened and got closer to Alpha.

"Would you, um.." she stated nervously as she ignored Aurora's icy glare. "like to dance with me, Lord Fang?"

Alpha noticed with amusement that she changed from "sir" to "Lord" since Dathedr announced his occupation. Alpha then gave her an apologetic look and wrapped his arm around Aurora's, making the Islingr Suicune snap out of her hating glare and looked at him with surprise.

"I cannot do so, Milady. You see, I am with another and I would like to dance with her." he told her making the elven princess look crestfallen.

Leafa then glared with extreme hatred and jealousy at Aurora, who was too happy to notice about the fact that Alpha was going to dance with her for the first time, and stormed off.

"Let's get some food first." Ragna told Saphira who smiled and walked off with him.

As Alpha and Aurora walked towards the dance floor, Aurora smiling and hugging Alpha even tighter.

"I didn't know you could dance." she told him as they walked down the spiral stairs to the dancefloor.

"I don't actually. I was hoping you or someone else would teach me how to." he replied, surprising her and making her giggle at his silliness.

They suddenly stopped as Draken an Lunalesse waved at them. The two walked up to them and Draken extended his hand to Alpha.

"It's an honor to meet you, Lord Fenrir. My name is Draken, son of my father, Ragna White-Death." Draken said with a smile.

Alpha smiled as well, shaking Draken's hand warmly. Alpha also figured that one of his three companions, either two Drakengards or his mate, must have told the young drake about his origin. Alpha didn't mind though since he trusted them already.

"Likewise, young one. I see that you are just as mannered as your father who is a great person by the way. And from the looks of things, I know you are as well and that you may just call me Alpha which will suffice." Alpha replied.

Draken smiled brightly, nodding and gesturing to Lunalesse to him.

"This is my mate-to-be, Lunalesse." he introduced, Lunalesse smiling and bowed whilst shaking since she was afraid of the intimidating wolf-in-man's clothing.

Alpha smiled and bowed his head a little, her fear subsiding a bit though returned comically when she noticed his canines.

"Pleasure to meet you as well. I'm glad, by your selection, that you chose Draken as your lover, who is no doubt as caring and strong as his father to his mate, to someone as beautiful as yourself." he stated.

Aurora rolled her eyes with a smile, knowing that her mate is only trying to lessen Lunalesse's fear of him. Draken smiled and puffed out his chest proudly and Lunalesse blushed with a smile at Alpha's last comment as she looked at Draken lovingly.

"Thank you, Alpha. It's great to meet you as well." she replied happily as they all continued to the dancefloor.

"Oh, by the way, do you know how to dance, Draken?" Alpha asked.

Draken fave him a quizzical look before finally nodding.

"I do. May I ask why?" he replied.

Alpha then gestured to the dancefloor and smiled.

"Do you mind dancing with your lover for me so I can learn the basic steps and form?" he asked again.

Draken smiled and nodded, taking Lunalesse to the dancefloor. Aurora looked at Alpha with a questioning expression, wondering how he would learn just by watching for there are many techniques and steps even in the most basic forms of dancing. Draken and Lunalesse began dancing, one of the former's arm being above the latter's hips and the other closed with her hand. As they danced and stepped around for a while, Alpha began nodding to himself and eventually, he walked Aurora to the dancefloor with confidence. Though Aurora was unsure, she noticed that Draken and Lunalesse danced like professionals meaning that they probably danced often for fun.

"Are you sure you're ready to do this?" Aurora asked Alpha to be sure.

Alpha put one hand on her back on her hip and grabbed her hand with the other. He then pulled with his hand on her hip and took a step back as she did as well. With the other hand, he pulled as well then pushed with the opposite hand making them actually dance with ease. What he was doing with her hands, pulling and pushing, were actually signals for her to know where to step since he is leading her.

"I'm quite certain unless I'm unsatisfactory?" he replied with a questioning tone as well as a smirk.

Aurora beamed and shook her head after recovering from her temporary surprise. She then noticed that the song changed to a fast paying one and Alpha began to speed up their movements as well. They danced around the ballroom floor, Alpha twirling her like a king to a queen and whatnot. He did various maneuvers flawlessly that would take experts a while to practice. He spun her once, with an arm still connecting them. As she spun, he ducked under their arms and turned around as well as stepping with his feet and getting into position. When she stopped spinning, Alpha grabbed her hip with his other arm again and they began dancing normally again. Another time, he lifted her in the air for a second and placed her on the other side in front of him. Then, he pulled and lifted one of his arms making her spin and duck under. He then wrapped his arms around her with her arms still connected, resulting in her being back to chest on him with their arms still intertwined in front of her chest. He then pushed with an arm and she unwrapped from him perfectly before they both got in the basic dance steps again.

"You take "watch and learn" to the next level." Aurora joked with a smile as she began to finish catching her breath.

They had done so many professional maneuvers and even some dancers earlier had stopped and watched them, clapping their hands all the while. In fact, they were still dancing though they weren't doing anything which gave Aurora a chance to catch her breath.

"All I needed was a few seconds." Alpha replied with a chuckle.

Aurora rolled her eyes and cocked an eyebrow at him.

"So you haven't watched other people dance before?" she asked as he spun her in an easy basic maneuver.

"I have but I didn't focus like I did earlier. Back then, I figured that I was going to live alone all my life and that I wouldn't need to learn how to dance since I wouldn't get a lover. I guess that's out the window now though." Alpha replied with a chuckle.

The song then turned into a beautiful slow moving one, prompting couples to dance at the moment. Alpha smiled and looked at Aurora lovingly, who in turned returned the look. Their arms slid across each other and soon, they were chest to chest and her head rested upon the crook of his neck. As they danced, Alpha noticed that Aurora was radiating so much happiness that he could practically feel it from her body. He chuckled at this and continued to lead his mate across and back the dancefloor.

What Aurora didn't know was that Leafa was staring at them the entire time, jealousy burning in her eyes. Alpha noticed her when he began to dance the quick paced song with Aurora but he didn't tell his mate for he didn't want to ruin her mood. As Leafa watched on, the more jealous and confused she got.

 _Why is he dancing with her? Is it because she's more beautiful than me? It can't be the fact that they love each other, he's human. So what is it?_ she thought to herself.

Alpha caught her thoughts and inwardly sighed, somewhat annoyed that every time he went somewhere exotic with single or even taken women, they would always get attracted to him. He tried not to smile much but even that didn't work. He didn't know why this always happened and thought he was the average looking person...

 _Would you please stop staring like that, Milady? I would like to focus on dancing than to feel your eyes dig into our backs._ he told her though in a respectful tone.

Leafa nearly slipped from her position when he told her that, surprised that he could speak to her mentally as well as notice her from that far away. She tried to contact him to convince him to dance with her but found that he had closed off his mind already. Frustrated, she stomped off to go find and sit at her father's table where he was eating dinner with several nobles.

Alpha relaxed when Leafa left though he didn't show that he wasn't in the first place. He focused on Aurora who had her eyes closed as well as smiling as she rested her head on his chest. To her, the night was amazing. First, her mate comes out of nowhere in the morning coincidentally after she talks about him, then, he bought her a brand new dress and earrings later after the battle in the forest, finally, they were actually dancing. Dancing! She always wanted to dance with him but never really voiced it. The music then stopped, a break for the musicians as well as for the dancers. Alpha looked at Aurora with a smile as they walked hand in hand out of the dancefloor.

"Hungry?" he asked her as they walked.

"Yeah, let's get some food in our bellies." she replied with a smile.

They walked around the area trying to spot the dining area. However, when they did, they caught the attention of Dathedr at his table which was not that far away from the dining area.

"Ah! Lord Alpha and Lady Islingr Suicune! Please, have a seat with us." he said with a welcoming tone.

The two looked at each other for a quick second and Alpha seated her then took a seat of his own. They were next to Ragna and Saphira who were staring nervously at them. Alpha noticed this and quickly found his mistake as he saw Aurora barely restraining her growl though glaring across the table at Leafa who was doing the same. No one but the trio, however, seemed to notice.

"Did you two get the chance to dance yet?" Dathedr asked, the rest of the nobles of the group began conversing with one another.

"Yes, we did actually. Your musicians were excellent by the way." Alpha replied as he placed his arm, which was still hidden from view, onto Aurora's thigh and massaged it gently and soothingly, causing her to suddenly lose almost all of her animosity.

She relaxed and gave a contented look, confusing Ragna and Saphira as well as Leafa.

 _Wasn't she just angry at me? Or am I imagining this?_ Leafa thought to herself.

She tried to get a rise out of Aurora and gave her a few glares and dirty looks but none of them worked. The whole time, Alpha was relaxing Aurora who was bathed in much bliss at the moment.

"And you, Lady Islington Suicune?" Dathedr suddenly asked.

At first, Aurora didn't pay attention thus didn't notice his question but a quick nudge from Alpha snapped her out of it. She looked at Dathedr and smiled, nodding her head.

"Of course. I enjoyed dancing and the music as well. Oh, and you can just call me by my last name, North, if you want." she replied.

The five of them, including Leafa, noticed that Dathedr and most likely the nobles as well seem to be oblivious to the fact that Alpha and Aurora were together in an intimate relationship. This actually made things easier for them, Alpha not having to explain why he was with Aurora when to the rest of them while they think he was a human and she was not.

Dathedr nodded to her reply and smiled as his wife, the queen, got their attention.

"May I ask what you used to do for a living, Lord Alpha? I know that you're currently working with Lord White-Death and Lady Bjartskular but I'm just curious."

"I used to assassinate people for Lady Arceus." Alpha replied seriously.

For a moment, everyone at the table grew silent. Aurora and the others looked at him as if he was crazy for even saying such a thing. Leafa paled significantly and barely restrained herself from leaving the table. All of a sudden, Dathedr and his wife laughed heartily, the nobles joining in as well.

"That was a mighty good joke, Lord Fang!" Dathedr managed to say through the fit of his laughter.

Alpha joined in on the laughing too though it was feigned. Aurora and the others laughed as well though they were all nervous for a moment. Leafa relaxed and laughed too, oblivious to the looks Aurora and the two Drakengards gave Alpha before they all began laughing. When the laughter died down, the queen, Harmonia, gave them a smile and snapped her fingers.

"You two must be hungry. Waiter!" she announced.

Soon, two full plates were placed in front of Alpha and Aurora. They thanked Harmonia and began to eat like the rest of those seated at the table. As they ate, Alpha continued massaging Aurora's thigh since Leafa returned to giving her death glares. It was beginning to annoy him and he would have told her so if not for the several nobles and her father and mother who were seated at the table. This continued for about half an hour or so and Alpha was beginning to think that the night will go on without a hitch.

"Lord Alpha, may I ask if you are looking for someone?" Leafa asked, indirectly challenging Aurora.

At this, Aurora ignored the massage Alpha was giving her and glared at Leafa, noticing that it was am indirect challenge and she refused to ignore it.

"Whatever do you mea-... Oh..." Alpha responded as the king and queen as well as Ragna and Saphira looked at him for his response.

Leafa noticed Aurora's anger and smirked, hoping that the latter would lose it and make herself look bad in front of everyone.

"Because it seems like the dog next to you is drooling over you. Isn't that right, North?" Leafa continued, all respect thrown away.

"Leafa!" Dathedr scolded as well as a look of disapproval from her mother.

Alpha, however, held up a hand to calm them and gave Leafa a calm look, scaring her actually.

"I rather you respectfully refer to her as Lady North. Please treat her with respect since I doubt you would like to be referred as any other derogatory term such as "sharp ears"." he told her.

Leafa, however, didn't give up and continued to push their buttons.

"Well you have myself to have. I found myself attracted to you and wish to be wedded with you." she shot back.

Alpha and his group were visibly shocked at her escalated reply and her parents nearly spat out their food in shock as well. Alpha regained his composure and shook his head, annoyance present on his face.

"I must decline. I do not feel the same way for you and I don't think I ever will to you... or to anyone else for that matter." he replied with an inaudible tone with his last statement.

Aurora smiled at his reply, thankful he was standing up for her and nearly hugged him when he muttered the last statement. She then turned and looked at Leafa with a glare, barely refraining from snarling.

"I would like it if you left us alone so we could all enjoy our meal. How about we forget this conversation was ever brought up?" Aurora offered.

Everyone save for Leafa silently thanked her for that. However, they were for different reasons. Dathedr and Harmonia still didn't know that Alpha and Aurora were in a relationship and they thought that Aurora was just trying to help Alpha out. Ragna and Saphira were relieved since there was going to be a fight between either Aurora and Leafa or a verbal scolding from Alpha who would do so if things got too far.

Leafa, now turning red from being stood up to constantly, grinder her teeth.

"And what do you care, _dog?_ Why do you care for what he thinks and say and my offer to marry him?" she told Aurora.

 _Just one more insult. Just one more..._

Ragna and Saphira shuddered violently as they heard the thought. They almost didn't recognize it for that the mental voice was indeed angry and had a terrifying dark tone to it. Dathedr and Harmonia noticed it as well, the two as well as Ragna and Saphira looked at Alpha who was visibly calm though his eyes showed otherwise. Aurora, however, noticed it as well and paled, not wanting for her lover to lose it.

"Look, I'm sorry for whatever I did that offended you. But can we just drop this conversation and be over it?" Aurora tried again, hoping that Leafa would do so.

"Oh, NOW you want to cower and submit. It's fitting, especially for a whining bit-" Leafa began but noticed everyone, including her parents, paled at her answer.

She then sensed a terrifying dark aura and widened her eyes as she found that it was coming from Alpha. She noticed that Aurora was trying to calm him down but to no avail. Alpha was so angry that he was clenching his fists with all of his might, showing them his white knuckles underneath his skin. He then got up, glaring at Leafa and silencing all side conversations at the table.

"Your first mistake was that you insulted her." he told her with a surprisingly calm tone.

His eyes then scared the living hell out of everyone there, the sclera turning black leaving his irises white.

"Your second mistake was that you _continued_ to offer for me to marry you, knowing full well that you would get a rise out of her." he continued, everyone, save for Aurora who was still trying to calm him down, shaking visibly.

"Then, against my wishes, you insulted her _again._ "

Aurora noticed that he was beginning to growl and grabbed his hand, only succeeding to stop him from doing so but not from continuing to tell Leafa off.

"Finally, you _still_ continued to insult her when SHE was the one who tried the end the conversation in order for the rest of the night to go peacefully." he said, an angry tone present when he mentioned Aurora.

Aurora then got up as well and grabbed his arm, allowing some ice to form within his coat on his arm to somewhat calm him down. Though even through all that, he still continued.

"I advise you to apologize... RIGHT NOW." he told Leafa.

Stupidly, Leafa couldn't even imagine to do so and shook her head, refusing to apologize. Her father and mother looked at her with anger as well and Ragna and Saphira thought that there was going to be a roasted princess tonight. Then, they all noticed that Alpha was growling, his growl rising with intensity with each passing second. The elves wondered how he was doing that, for no human could do that except for maybe magic.

Jets of flame and smoke began to rise from Alpha's mouth and nose and Aurora swore his eyes were about to start flaming as well but dismissed the thought. The elves looked with horror as they noticed how animalistic he was like yet wondered how far he could go.

Aurora then forcefully turned his head and stared at him, giving him a pleading look that he simply couldn't take. For a moment, he stared at her, losing himself deep in her eyes. After much contemplation, Alpha then calmed down, his growls subsided and the flames as well as the smoke ceased. His eyes returned back to normal and he stopped clenching his fists. Everyone calmed down... slightly and wondered what he was going to do next. Alpha then took a deep breath before exhaling audibly through his nose.

"I apologize for my outburst which was uncalled for. Please forgive me, Lady Leafa. I ask for your forgiveness as well, Lord Dathedr and Lady Harmonia. I shouldn't have got out of hand especially in front of all of these nobles and I hope this won't ruin our relationships with each other." he said in monotone, shocking everyone greatly.

Dathedr regained his composure and smiled, happy that the quarrel didn't get worse.

"Of course, my good man! I must apologize as well for my daughter's advances and remarks. She was just joking, _wasn't she?_ " he replied, looking at Leafa who looked down to avoid their gazes.

"Right. Just playing around is all. I apologize." she muttered.

Dathedr then smiled again and nodded at Alpha who in turn nodded as well, a fake smile present on his face.

"May I ask to be excused? I'm afraid I need fresh air for my nose since it's stuffy." he asked.

Dathedr nodded and Alpha walked away. Soon afterwards, everyone at the table began conversing again as if nothing happened. Aurora looked at Ragna and Saphira, all three thinking that they had dodged a fiery hell there. Aurora then got up from her seat and respectfully dismissed herself before walking off to look for Alpha.

She walked around for quite some time, avoiding advances from some males and ignoring jealous glares from the woman. She finally found Alpha outside on the balcony by himself, looking up at the full moon. She walked up to him and closed his hand within hers, making him look at her. She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder, making Alpha sigh and finally smile.

"You know, I could have told her off myself." she told him.

"Yes, but that would have made you look disrespectful. I did it because I love you and only you. I also did it to _avoid_ having you tell her off yourself. Since I did it, _I_ looked disrespectful. Besides, I rather have myself judged like that than you, I really don't care for what they think of me." he replied.

Aurora looked at him with a concerned expression to which he responded by kissing her forehead reassuringly. He then looked at the moon again and smiled.

"Nice out here, isn't it?" he asked her, a smile forming on her face.

"It is. So much happened when you came back today too." she replied with a short giggle at her last statement.

Alpha chuckled and made sure no one was around or looking. His coat then turned to one flowing with darkness, confusing Aurora. All of a sudden, his wings sprouted from his back and he took flight, hovering above the pointed roof of the palace. He then gestured her to come up there and she did the same, though her wings came out much more easily since her dress didn't cover her back that much. She flew up to Alpha with a questioning look but then that turned to surprise as he held out his hand and summoned a thin platform of darkness in front of them. He then grabbed her hand and led her onto the platform, bowing to her once they reached the center though he made sure that his wings didn't whack her.

"May I have this dance?" he asked with a smile.

Aurora teared up and nodded, taking his head and getting into position. He then surprised her again by placing his forehead on hers, making a mental link. Then, much to her pleasure, he relayed a song to her mentally and it played as they danced.

 **(All of Me- John Legend)**

They danced happily together, Aurora humming contentedly to the song that relayed in their minds and Alpha relaxing for once.

"Wouldn't someone see us up here?" she suddenly asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.

Alpha chuckled as he spun her around him, stopping then putting her into the wrap position like before.

"Let them see us, I don't care. Should they notice my wings they'll dismiss them as part of an unknown magic and such." he whispered into her ear before unwrapping her.

Aurora smiled and a thought suddenly came to mind.

"Did you sense anything off in there? I didn't sense anything negative save for Leafa."

Alpha shook his head, looking below him to see some people already leaving the palace. Of the group, he spotted Ragna and his family flying away. He noticed that Draken and Lunalesse were flying off in a different direction and remembered that they lived by themselves elsewhere.

"No, I didn't actually. Everyone there seemed to have good intentions. I didn't sense a single dark thought or presence among them." Alpha finally replied, letting Aurora lean back in a dip.

"Well I guess that means we can enjoy the rest of this night without having to worry about anything." she replied with a loving smile, something Alpha looked forward to everyday.

Alpha smiled as well and kissed her lightly, Aurora loving the feeling of his lips on hers. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes before separating and returning to dancing. Half an hour or so went by and Alpha decided to pick it up a notch. He held on to her and waved one of his hands, the platform beneath them disappearing at the motion. Aurora looked at him with a questioning smirk to which he responded with a chuckle.

He spread his wings and so did she, both grabbing the other by the hand and arm. Alpha then rotated them, performing techniques expertly whilst rotating slowly in the air. Aurora went along with it without hesitation, loving how he always liked to make things interesting. They twirled and twirled, spun and waltzed, dipping and ascending at random points, overall, enjoying their time together after being separated for a full year or so. As they danced, Aurora rested her head against Alpha's chest, listening to his strong heartbeat as well as the song he recently relayed in their minds.

 **(Solo-Iyaz).**

From the ground below, Leafa stared with jealousy, though slightly shocked upon seeing Alpha's wings. That was besides the matter though, as she suddenly wondered if they really _were_ a couple. She frowned and tried to dismiss the thought but it kept coming back to her, invading her mind. She then shook her head with finality and slapped her horse's rump, signaling it to go and eventually a full on gallop into the night.

Alpha and Aurora danced until the palace lights were off and there were no longer guests within. As a final move of expertise, Alpha suddenly hugged Aurora and curled his wings in, Aurora doing the same. They plummeted further down to the ground, getting closer and closer as well as spiraling on their way down. Then, perfectly timed, Alpha stopped their plummet by opening his wings and glided towards the direction of where Ragna and Saphira flew off, his back facing the ground and Aurora on top of him. He somehow managed to keep them in flight and Aurora was amazed at this, giggling then kissing him once more as Alpha glided to the forest with her in his arms.

 **Du Weldenvarden, a cave deep in the great forest...**

"So this is where you slept for the past year? With Ragna and Saphira?" Alpha asked as they landed several yards away from the mouth of the cave, the sound of the two sleeping Drakengards within apparent.

Aurora nodded and led him to the cave, transforming into her **Natural Form** when she reached the entrance. Alpha looked inside, seeing that the cave had enough space for many more dragons in their **Natural Forms.** He was slightly surprised at the size and space of the cave and saw that Aurora was already laying down in a spot several feet away from Ragna and Saphira.

 _Want to head off to sleep with me?_ she asked wearily.

Alpha smiled and pointed to the direction of a nearby lake he spotted earlier. Aurora, knowing what he was talking about, nodded and yawned, lowering her head onto her fore legs and closing her eyes. A smile was also apparent on her muzzle and Alpha smiled at the sight. He then left, walking towards the direction of the lake.

Later, midnight or so, they were all sleeping in the cave, Alpha still in his human form. He was going to sleep against the wall of the cave but Aurora woke up at his arrival back from the lake and insisted that he slept against her side. After much convincing, he gave up and complied with her wishes, now sleeping against her side with her head resting on his lap and her wings acting like a blanket. Suddenly, Alpha's ears twitched and his eyes snapped open, now alert and scanning the forest in front of him. Really, he was like the guard dog, no, wolf of the group. They actually looked up to him, thinking of him as the leader of the group. It was only fitting really, his title as The Alpha and all.

Alpha narrowed his eyes which were now wide awake, all traces of sleep gone. He slowly got from his position, avoiding waking up Aurora in the process. However, she did whine a little in her sleep since his body heat was gone. As much as Alpha would like to smile at that moment, he focused at the threat at hand. He walked out of the cave, then taking off in a dead sprint with his footsteps falling silently. He ran deep into the forest after the dark presence, whoever it was made the mistake of stepping on a branch earlier thus alerting Alpha. Said Fenrir also noticed traces of magic in the path he was following, now knowing that whoever it was used magic to run away from him at an amazing speed. However, no one could outrun the Alpha...

He spotted the perpetrator and noticed that it had a masculine figure as well as developed muscles that were visible on his arms. They reached a clearing and the cloaked man suddenly stopped and spun around, brandishing an iridescent blue sword at Alpha. It was a hilt and a half long sword like both of Alpha's but had a shorter reach. The sword had a hilt made of fine leather and the pommel had a sapphire studded though it glowed with a tainted dark aura as if the wielder's mind was tainted with evil thoughts. The blade of the sword had intricate elven characters engraved on both sides. Alpha, knowing how to read the Ancient Language, narrowed his eyes as he read the name of the sword.

" _Brisingr_." he muttered to himself, the word translated as "fire."

Not a moment later, the cloaked man raised his sword in the air and smiled wickedly.

" _Brisingr!_ " the man shouted and the sword suddenly became cloaked in a torrent of blue flames.

Alpha frowned, realizing that the sword was not created by normal means. As the flames of the sword lit the area, Alpha made out the features of his enemy who emanated power, even more so to the point that it was almost rivaling Ragna's.

The man had blond-white hair that reached past his neck, his eyes a dark blue. His teeth gleamed white and he had a nicely kept beard. He wore chain mail armor underneath his tunic and leggings and he had what looked like a silvery scar that looked like it was in the process of healing which would soon fade away. The man had pointed ears though his face as well as his aura told Alpha that he wasn't a pure elf. Alpha instead, noticed he had an aura that resembled a human's as well, concluding that the man was a hybrid of half elf and half human. The man suddenly charged at Alpha with a surprising speed. Alpha summoned his armor, surprising his opponent. The man did cease his attack though and swung at Alpha's hip. Alpha jumped, the blade passing safely underneath him, and summoned one of his own swords, which shined darkly in the moonlight much like his intimidating armor. For a moment, the man backed away at the sight of the sword but soon regained his composure and trusted out his hand.

 _"Deloi sharjalví!"_ he shouted, Alpha translating it as "Earth move!"

The ground underneath him shook and shifted, making him temporarily loose his balance. The man took this opportunity and performed a downwards slash at Alpha. Alpha brought up his sword and deflected the blow, twisting his hand and making his enemy drop the sword. When that happened, Alpha kicked the man away, sending the swordsman several feet back into a tree. However, the man didn't seem to be fazed and got up, suddenly pointing both hands and Alpha.

 _"Thrysta vindr!"_ he spat, meaning "Compress the air!"

Alpha sudden found it difficult to breath. He then inhaled, gathering as much oxygen as he could then narrowed his eyes at the enemy. He then noticed that the man's sword, _Brisingr,_ was still lying on the ground. He lifted it with shadows then throwing it at high speeds towards its wielder. The man audibly gasped and dove out of the way, his loss of concentration dispelled the spell and allowed Alpha to breath easily again. The man ahead of him swore as he pulled his sword out of the tree and turned to Alpha, visibly frustrated. The man charged again, slashing at Alpha who blocked the rushed attack. However, he didn't see that the man had a knife and grunted as it was plunged into his side in between a small gap in his armor. Alpha growled and kneed the man back them took the knife and threw it at the man, hitting his mark on the man's shoulder. The man cried out in pain and pulled out the knife. He then sneered at Alpha and muttered another spell.

 _"Frethya."_ he stated, meaning "Hide" and he turned invisible, hidden from Alpha's view.

Alpha frowned and closed his eyes, opening them again to reveal that the sclera of his eyes turned black again. His pupils then widened though not because of his instincts are taken over. He rarely used this and he never needed it but he decided to use it for once. To him, everything looked black and white, white being areas that gave off heat. Most of the area around him he saw was black but a humanoid figure as well as the shape of a sword flared white brightly, more so coming from the latter. Alpha blinked and his eyes reverted back to having white sclera. His pupils returned to their natural size as well and they were no longer dilated. Alpha then looked in the general direction he saw his opponent and his ears twitched. In a fraction of a second, Alpha leaned backwards and the blurred as well as invisible form of _Brisingr_ passed harmlessly above him. He then pushed the area in front of him with his free hand, earning a grunt of pain. Alpha then swung his sword diagonally, slashing the man's chest accurately and forcing the man to become visible again. The man staggered backwards, surprised that Alagaësia's best swordsman, himself, was being defeated in a battle such as this. He then glared at Alpha with malevolence and pointed a finger at him.

"This isn't over." he cursed, using normal language then disappeared in a flash of blue, leaving Alpha alone.

Alpha scanned the area for the man, detecting no other presence save for himself and a few animals. He then walked back to the cave, his ears twitching every few seconds and his eyes alert.

 **Morning..**

Aurora yawned as she woke up, a smile upon her face when she recalled the previous night's events. She stretched and notice that Alpha was no longer there but instead at the mouth of the cave. She smiled, deciding to sneak up on him. She hugged close to the ground and silently crawled closer to Alpha. As soon as she was able to pounce, she did so but stopped herself halfway when she noticed that his whole body was alert and his eyes were constantly scanning left and right. His sword was present in one of his hands and Aurora could smell blood coming off from him. She walked up to him with concern and nudged him, a worried expression upon her face.

"Our enemy. The one who summoned the Ra'zac, was here last night." Alpha told her.

Aurora was shocked and narrowed her eyes as she looked at him angrily.

 _Why didn't you wake me up? We could've done something about it._ she asked.

"He was _watching_ us, or at least tried to. I heard him in my sleep and ran after him until we ended up in a clearing. We fought and after the both of us sustained a couple of injuries, he teleported elsewhere." Alpha replied.

Aurora had her mouth agape and Alpha suddenly lifted up his shirt to reveal a stab wound on his side. The wound was actually still bleeding though it was thankfully slowed down by a cloth Alpha had placed there.

 _Why haven't you healed it yet?_ Aurora asked with concern as she tended to his wound.

"The weapons he used against me were of no normal means. He had a sword and a dagger though both had an extraordinary air around them. As for the stab wound, I can't seem to heal it for some reason so I concluded it's the work of the dagger he used. An enchantment maybe." Alpha responded and winced as she licked his wound after cleaning and purifying it.

Aurora then checked the rest of his body for injuries but found no other one. She then looked at Alpha worried.

 _Well I can't heal it either so it looks like that's going to have to heal naturally. Speaking of, shouldn't it have healed hours ago with your accelerated healing? Even my wounds heal like that._

Alpha shook his head with a smile.

"One of the things I had to give up was my accelerated healing. I now heal as fast as you do so now, I got to be more careful." he replied.

 _Why did you have to give it up?_ she asked.

Alpha was about to answer but suddenly bolted his head to the left towards the forest. After listening for a few seconds, he returned his attention to her.

"Anyways, I had to give it up during my training. I still have accelerated healing but just not as fast as before." he replied.

Aurora nodded and looked at his stab wound again which was no longer bleeding. When she looked closer, she already saw that clots began to form and the wound started to heal itself. It would be finished within the hour. Aurora then gave Alpha a questioning look as she laid down with her forearms across his lap.

 _So what did the man look like? Is it someone we know?_

Alpha placed a hand on her back and began massaging it gently, relaxing Aurora a bit. He then shook his head as he looked at her, almost distanced.

"No, not someone we know. The man had blond-white hair and his ears were pointed. His aura gave off a half elf and half human signature and he seems to be adept at both magic and swordplay. His eyes had a deep blue color and he had a fading scar on one of his hands." Alpha listed, suddenly hearing a gasp.

They turn to see Saphira, awake, who began to shake. She let a few tears fall and she began shaking her head in denial.

 _No. No. No. No. It couldn't be... Alpha, was there anything the Ra'zac said during that battle?_ she asked.

Alpha nodded, growing in concern for her.

"Indeed. One of them referred to the man as Master Sha- though I didn't get the rest."

 _Shadeslayer._ she muttered.

"Excuse me?" Alpha asked.

 _Shadeslayer,_ she repeated, _it was a title given to someone who died a while back. Someone who participated in the Blood-Oath ceremony with the elves and turned half elf himself. Someone who killed the Shade, Durza during the war. That someone was Eragon Bromsson..._

Silence...

"The very same? Your ex-rider?" Alpha asked.

 _Indeed. You described him perfectly. That scar on his hand used to be the gëdway ignasia, or "shining palm." All riders have one when they bond with their dragon but ever since I severed the connection with him, the scar should go away... But that doesn't make sense, how could he be alive?_ Saphira responded as she calmed down.

"Well I fought him just yesterday night. He spoke in the Ancient Language for his spells and his power nearly matches Ragna's and yours. There was a spell in particular though I'm not sure it was a spell. When he said _"Brisingr"_ his entire sword became bathed in blue flames though when I read the sword's name out loud, it had no effect." Alpha explained.

Saphira would've paled if she didn't have any scales. She nodded and lowered her head even closer to the ground.

 _That WAS him then. His sword, Brisingr, was crafted by the best smith in Alagaësia who crafts all swords of all riders. The sword itself is made of adamantine though tinted blue during the process of its creation. Whenever Eragon said "Brisingr" the sword would erupt in flames. However, whenever someone else tries to say it, nothing would happen... I can't believe he's still alive. Ragna killed him..._

Saphira then got up and laid down next to Alpha and Aurora, a pleading look in her eye.

 _Please, I beg of you. Don't let him get me again. I don't want to suffer to him anymore..._ she pleaded.

Alpha nodded with confidence and placed his hand soothingly on her head between her horns. Aurora smiled and got up, laying next to Saphira as well as placing a comforting wing over her. Ragna suddenly woke up to the sound of her sobbing and quickly walked over to her in concern.

 _What's wrong, love?_ he asked.

 _Eragon... He's back._ Saphira managed to sob but leaned her head against Aurora, thankful for her and Alpha's comfort.

Ragna suddenly grew angry with rage and he sent a fireball into the sky.

 _Impossible! I killed him! I freed you of him!_ Ragna said incredulously as he looked at Alpha who was turned serious.

"I fought him just last night, Ragna. I think you may have missed something back then." he told the Drakengard before he told them all what happened the night before.

After his explanation, Ragna and Saphira nodded and they got closer to each other for comfort.

 _*Sigh*... That was indeed him... Why would he summon the Ra'zac though? Actually, where did he find them? He supposedly destroyed the last of their kind's eggs during the war._ Ragna asked.

Alpha shrugged, looking ahead of them with a calm expression.

"I cannot tell you that for I didn't participate in the war... What I can tell you is that he was waiting all this time for this moment.. for when you two to come back to living here. As for why he waited all these years, I bet he was doing research on summoning Lightstalkers as well as practicing his magic and swordplay. He gave me a somewhat difficult time last night and his magic was casted expertly and he actually, like I said earlier, nearly suffocated me. Not many magicians here in Alagaësia has that level of arcane arts like he does, as far as I know anyways."

The others nodded to his response, Alpha's stab was already finished healing. He then got up and stretched his body.

"Anyone would like to hunt with me for our breakfast?" he asked, Aurora getting up immediately.

She turned her head and looked at the two with an assuring smile.

 _You two stay here and comfort each other. I know that it's hard to accept but we need to be at the top of our game._ she told them before following Alpha into the forest.

 **A Castle in the Hadarac**

"Damn him! Why must he be there?!" Eragon scowled as he tended to his wounds.

He was in a castle in the Hadarac, someplace where his cousin's wife used to be held by the Ra'zac. Now, oh the irony. Eragon now controlled the Ra'zac and Lethrblaka. He controlled the Lightstalkers as well, of course, that was the intention when he trained himself with dark arts. Eragon then picked up his sword and sneered as he was reminded of Saphira's scales, something he loved beating when he used to be her Rider. He then shoved his sword back into its sheath and got up, walking to the bed. He flopped down into it, tired and out of energy.

The thing was, he used a lot of magic in quick succession back in his fight in Alpha. Meaning he spent most of his energy and now he was exhausted. Eragon reminded himself to be careful though, else he could die in the next fight... completely die this time. Eragon looked at the ceiling, staring with hatred as he remembered the day seven years ago.

 **Alagaësia, seven ago, near Ellesméra...**

 _ **"Saphira! Where are you, damn it! If you don't come to me in the next five seconds, so help me I'll pull out all of your scales!"**_ **Eragon shouted, his home too far from any building for anyone to hear.**

 **Eragon smiled triumphantly as Saphira landed nearby, her muzzle caked in dry blood from where he punched her earlier. Her wings were covered in slash marks due to his "sword practice." She scowled at him, knowing that if she killed him, she would die as well.**

 _ **"Come over here so I could heal you. We're going into the city again and I don't want anyone to know about what I do to you for fun on a daily basis."**_ **he told her.**

 **She did so and an elven woman, Arya, the princess of the elves, walked out of the house with a smile.**

 _ **"Morning dear. Ready to go?"**_ **she asked him.**

 **Eragon stopped healing Saphira for a moment and smiled at Arya, his eyes showed lust.**

 _ **"Of course I am. Let me just heal this useless scaled bag of bones and we'll be on our way."**_ **he replied.**

 **He then finished healing Saphira and gestured for her to lower herself so that he and Arya could get on. However, she didn't budge.**

 _ **"What are you doing? Get on your stomach!"**_ **Eragon commanded but Saphira didn't move a muscle.**

 **Saphira tool a deep breath, mustering all of the courage she could find. She then growled at Eragon and Arya, both stepped back in surprise** _ **.**_

 _ **No. I'm tired of being your slave. I chose wrong when I hatched to chose a Rider that day and it was the biggest mistake of my life. Release me, Eragon.**_ **Saphira stated boldly.**

 **Eragon and Arya looked at each other, equally dumbfounded that the dragon in front of them is actually disobeying them. Eragon the laughed and glared at her.**

 _ **"Nice try, and what did I tell you about calling me that?!"**_ **he shouted, using magic and kicking her foreleg really hard making her collapse on three legs.**

 **He then slapped her face hard and with magic, it actually stunned her and it stung badly.**

 _ **"It's "Master" to you, wench!"**_ **he shouted as he kicked her again but on the nose, drawing fresh blood from her nostrils.**

 **Saphira began crying, getting up suddenly and growling at Eragon. She then roared at him, loud enough to nearly pop the two's ear drums. When she stopped, Eragon growled and pointed his sword at her.**

 _ **"I'll give you one last chance! Do what I say or die!"**_ **he told her.**

 **Arya smiled smugly and nodded, drawing her bow at Saphira and muttering** _ **"**_ **stenr", covering the arrowhead in sharp particles of stone.**

 _ **"Submit. I don't think we would want to lose our PET."**_ **Arya jeered, boiling rage forming within Saphira.**

 **Saphira then glowed with a blue light, Eragon glowing as well though clutching his head in pain. The gëdwey ignasia flared red, searing his skin as well as scarring over to a faded color instead of its usually silver color. The glowing then ceased and Eragon and Arya looked at Saphira, disbelief written across their faces.**

 _ **"You didn't! I could easily tell the elves that you turned against me and have the whole army go after you!"**_ **Eragon shouted with fury, Arya speechless that Saphira committed such a bold and incredibly risky act.**

 _ **No they won't for Saphira has ME for witness.**_ **a voice sounded as a white dragon flew into view.**

 **He landed next to Saphira and looked at her wounds. He then moved in front of her and spread his wings in front of her protectively, growling at Eragon and Saphira. Eragon and Arya were shocked, only knowing two other dragons. Ragna suddenly bathed the area in a torrent of flames and Eragon threw up a barrier, using mental magic which is less accurate and riskier than actually saying the spell.**

 **"** _ **Fírnen!**_ **" Arya shouted and a green dragon suddenly swooped down and landed in front of her and her husband, growling at Saphira and Ragna.**

 _ **"Who are you?!"**_ **Eragon demanded, glaring at Ragna.**

 **Ragna growled and bared his teeth at them.**

 _ **I am Ragna White-Death, Guardian of Drakes! I hail from The Spine and have the entire population of the mountain area to fight for me at my will. I WILL NOT have you harm and abuse Saphira any further!**_ **Ragna roared, somewhat intimidating the two abusive people.**

 **Ragna turned to Saphira and nodded at her.**

 _ **I'll take Eragon. Can you defeat Arya and Fírnen?**_ **Ragna asked, sad that they had to kill a fellow dragon, a young one at that.**

 _ **... Yes, I can.**_ **Saphira replied before looking and growling at Arya who prepared herself.**

 **They clashed, initiating one of the most memorable battles in draconian as well as elven history. Saphira noticed with sadness that this couldn't have been prevented and that it would have happened anyway. She didn't want to kill them but they were just too much for her...**

 **Saphira snapped at Arya who jumped out of the way and seated herself on Fírnen's back. Fírnen then took flight, Saphira flying off as well. Saphira sent a few fireballs at the green drake, successfully scorching his wing and making him fly erratically and uncontrollably. Soon afterwards, Fírnen landed for fear that he and his Rider will crash. He then bared his teeth and snapped at Saphira who winced as she tackled him into a nearby tree.**

 **Ragna growled at Eragon who swung his sword at the dragon. Ragna moved his head out of the way and shoved Eragon through the wall of the house with his tail. Eragon groaned in pain and got up, pointing his sword at Ragna.**

 _ **"This is none of your business! Leave now and I will spare your life!"**_ **he warned Ragna who laughed.**

 **Ragna continued to laugh at the command, not taking the Rider seriously. Eragon sneered and grew frustrated as he suddenly leapt into the air and prepared to drive his sword into Ragna's heart. Ragna stopped laughing and simply blew a puff of fire at Eragon, burning the man. Eragon fell to the floor, yelling out in pain as he tried to put out the fire on his arm. Ragna then smacked Eragon into a boulder with his tail, holding him there. Ragna closed the distance between them and growled into Eragon's ear.**

 _ **I don't know why you abused her. I don't know why you treated her as you did. But I'm going to put a stop to that and I will reveal myself to the people to declare what you did to her.**_

 **Eragon glared at Ragna ad he struggled to slip free of the tail's grasp. He found that he couldn't and looked at Ragna with a skeptical look.**

 _ **"And what makes you think that they'll believe you, especially if you killed the one wedded to their princess?"**_ **Eragon countered, earning a look of amusement from Ragna.**

 _ **Saphira's word should be enough for them. They respect dragons more so than they respect Riders. If that doesn't work, we can always talk and swear in the Ancient Language for it doesn't allow us to lie or go back on our word.**_ **Ragna replied, Eragon swearing as he tried again to break free.**

 **Fírnen lay dead on the ground, the poor misled drake's neck snapped. Saphira cried at the sight but knew she was really saving him from a life of negativity and slavery. She then turned and glared at Arya who used to be Fírnen's Rider. Arya was still trying to recover from the shock of her dragon dying and couldn't defend herself when Saphira batted her away with her wing. Arya cried out in pain when she landed, looking at Saphira with pleading eyes.**

 _ **"Please! Spare me, Bjartskular! I'll do whatever you want! I'll GIVE you whatever you want!"**_ **the elf pathetically begged.**

 **Saphira frowned and turned around, thinking that she didn't need to unnecessarily kill the princess if the elves. Saphira turned to her wing, a slash mark and an arrow embedded next to it thanks to Arya and Fírnen. Saphira then felt a sharp pain in her back and turned around to see Arya with Nírnen, Orchid, a Death Spear made to kill dragons, in her hand with Saphira's blood dripping from it. Saphira felt her legs give out and collapsed onto the ground the wound in her back to much to bear. She then looked as Arya began to drive the spear into her heart. However, Arya suddenly became bathed in flames and she screamed in agony as she died slowly. Arya ceased screaming after a while and he burning body crumpled to the ground, motionless. Ragna stood over her body, growling.**

 _ **"Arya!"**_ **Eragon shouted in fury as he got up from the ground and picked up his sword.**

 **He then charged at Saphira with hatred, sword raised high into the air. Before he could reach her, Ragna grabbed Eragon and lifted the swordsman up to his muzzle.**

 _ **If you think you are going to hurt my love, YOU ARE DEAD WRONG!**_ **Ragna exclaimed with emphasis as he threw Ragna onto the ground then stabbing his claw into the ex-Rider's chest.**

 **Eragon screamed out in pain for what seemed like hours when it was really minutes. Ragna was glaring at the one beneath him, his claw still embedded in the bastard's chest. Soon, Eragon screamed no more and Ragna removed his claw, batting the body away with his paw. He then turned to Saphira who was crying... but with relief as well as happiness.**

 _ **We did it. You're freed.**_ **Ragna told her as he hugged her.**

 _ **Thank you, Ragna. I couldn't have done it without you... Do you really mean it? Do you love me?**_ **she asked, looking at him.**

 **Ragna smiled and nuzzled her neck as he healed her wounds, making her nearly squeal in happiness.**

 _ **I do and I would do anything for you.**_ **he replied, earning a kiss from the sapphire dragoness.**

 **What they didn't know was that Eragon was still breathing. He regained consciousness and looked at them with hatred. He then walked off towards the Hadarac Desert, intent of revenge.**

 _ **"I will avenge you Arya... "**_

 **Present**

Eragon punched the bedframe, splintering it. He then got up again and walked over to the mirror above his dresser, snarling at it.

"I WILL consume your heart, Saphira. Then, I'll gain unimaginable power. Then maybe, I'll go for the Islingr Suicune as well... "

 **Ellesméra..**

"That is preposterous! There is no way in a millennia, no, EVER that he's the one behind all the attacks!" Dathedr exclaimed with denial.

They were in his office room within his castle. They had decided to hold a meeting with him about Eragon and the elven king of Ellesméra didn't seem to take it well. Alpha stepped forth and nodded seriously.

"Eragon, the one who struck down Galbatorix, is indeed alive. As I explained, I fought him yesterday as well as the Ra'zac earlier that morning. The latter mentioned something about Shadeslayer and as far as I'm concerned, there hasn't been anyone who has killed a Shade recently save for Eragon. Now, what do you suppose we do?" Alpha told him, authoritative yet respective.

Dathedr frowned and fiddled with the beard of his chin. He then walked over to a map of Alagaësia and pointed to an area within the mountains past the Hadarac Desert.

"There. The kingdom of dwarves known as Tronjheim. Go there and you should meet with Murtagh, Eragon's brother.. He should know what to do... Now, what do you suppose is our unfortunate enemy's goal? Why would he go through all this trouble?" Dathedr responded with a great deal of curiosity.

"I noticed that when I fought him, his aura and magic had a tainted feeling to it. Also, his power seems to nearly match that of Lord White-Death. Their energies are similar in terms in power so I can only conclude that Eragon's goal is to consume Lady Bjartskular's heart, or _Eldunarí_ in your language. You see, Milord, as you may already know, consuming a dragon's heart will give one a considerable amount of power. Lady Bjartskular is a Drakengard, making her _Eldunarí_ no doubt making one even more powerful once consumed." Alpha explained, his knowledge of such topics made them look at him with awe.

Alpha then faced Aurora, continuing with his explanation.

"Lightstalkers have the same goal and consume the hearts of those who are affiliated with Light. Both the Ra'zac _and_ the Lightstalkers are under Eragon's control, making her a target as well." he finished as he gestured to Aurora.

Dathedr nodded, a grim expression set on his face. He then raised an eyebrow as he noticed the questioning look on Leafa's, who was accompanying them as well, face.

"What about the people who murdered? What was the purpose in that?" she asked, asking Alpha and avoiding his gaze as well.

Alpha, still a little angry from the events of the night before, sighed calmly. Aurora shifted uncomfortably, being in the same room as Leafa tensed the air.

"There's two reasons for their murder. One was for getting our attention which worked. The other, a small but beneficial to Eragon still, the victims were all amiable according to the people and when I inspected their bodies, they were missing their hearts. The Ra'zac most likely offered them to Eragon who consumed the hearts which must have contained whatever little Light there was and gained a small amount of power from them." Alpha informed them.

This new information dawned upon them like a sack of bricks. It all made sense to them now and they wondered just how far his mind could go...

 **An hour later...**

Alpha and the group as well as Leafa, much to the two of them's displeasure, were traveling with amazing speed across the Hadarac. Leafa was riding on Ragna and Saphira as well as Aurora flew on their own. Below them, Alpha was running so fast that the normal eye would only see a blur. Alpha left thousands of footprints behind, kicking up miniature sandstorms behind him. Leafa noticed this earlier and figured that he was using magic to accelerate himself.

Everything was going smooth though there wasn't a single conversation amongst anyone there. The air hung heavy with tension with the two females', Aurora and Leafa, presence. Ragna tried to start a conversation but only received a reply from his mate and a simply "Uhm." from Leafa. He sighed and hung his head a little in defeat though remained focused and continued on flying. Aurora looked at Alpha below them, his legs a blur and his face barely discernable. She then noticed that the wind was picking up very suddenly and looked around with alert.

 _Twister! And it's not a normal one either!_ Alpha warned them.

They spotted the twister, seeing it as a very large column of sand and dirt. They noticed that it crackled with purple electricity and had dark hue around it. It spun violently, winds surpassing around 175 miles per hour.

 _Change your course!_ Saphira instructed them and they did as she said.

However the twister seemed to follow them and began picking up speed, terrifyingly closing the distance between them. Aurora looked down at Alpha worried but sighed in relief as he grew his wings and took flight, appearing next to her shortly.

"We have to fly faster!" he shouted to them, ignoring Leafa's surprised look.

They indeed flew faster and began leaving the twister behind. They momentarily relaxed and flew calmly to their destination but all of a sudden, another dark twister appeared and went after them.

"It has to be Eragon!" Leafa exclaimed to them though they figured that out long before when the first twister appeared.

Alpha then growled though it was inaudible due to the raging winds before flying down to the ground. The group stopped and hovered, looking at him as if he was crazy. They them saw Alpha's wings expand in size, growing that to the size of when he was in his **Natural Form.** Leafa gasped at the sight of his wings, dismissing it again as another demonstration of his magic. Alpha then reared back his wings, forcing a large amount of air behind him. He then flapped his enormous wings a single time, all the air collected blew in a raging torrent forming two large twisters. Alpha then reared back one of his wings and as if he was throwing something, flapped it and launched the twister at the opposing one. He did the same with his other wing and twister and eventually, both twisters collided with opposing one. At contact, all the wind seemed to die down though it collected at the spot where the three twisters were. The group looked in with disbelief as Alpha's twisters won over and dispersed the enemy one, then both disappearing as Alpha's wings returned back to normal size. He them flew up to them and gestured towards the direction of Tronjheim.

"We should get going before another one appears." he told them, snapping them out of their shock before they all began flying towards the dwarven kingdom.

 **On the side of a mountain in front of a waterfall...**

 _Where exactly is it?_ Aurora asked, moving to the side so Saphira and Ragna could land.

Leafa got off of Ragna's back and pointed to the waterfall.

"There, behind the hidden entrance." she answered as Alpha landed and withdrew his wings back into his back.

Alpha gestured for her to go, earning a look of confusion from the elf.

"You should go first for there could be guards on the other side. Ragna and Saphira should go as well. They'll recognize you but if we go, we may get attacked." he explained to them.

Leafa nodded and dove into the pool in front of the waterfall. Ragna and Saphira simply flew into a large opening above them. After waiting a few moments, Alpha looked at Aurora and nodded, creating a barrier around himself to keep dry. He then jumped in, Aurora following soon afterwards. As they swam, Alpha noticed a torch above the surface of the water and swam towards it, inhaling for air when he broke the surface. Aurora poked her head out the water as well next to him, looking around to see Leafa and many dwarven guards. Ragna and Saphira were on the corner, drying themselves off. One dwarf, seemingly taller than the others, stepped towards Alpha and Aurora as they got out of the pool of water.

"Greetings, Lord Fang, I am Orik, the king of the dwarves." the dwarf stated proudly before extending his hand to Alpha.

Orik had a dark orange beard, gold armor covered his body. He had a friendly smile and warm eyes with brown irises. The end of his beard was braided into a thick strand that had beads of different varieties attached to it. He was about 4'11" in height though had a muscular frame. He had long hair that reached a little past his shoulders and two small hatchets that hung from his back. His face was covered with white tribal paint, he had tribal dots on his forehead, three of them to signify that he was indeed king of Tronjheim.

Alpha dispelled the barrier though they didn't react to it due to it being invisible in the first place. He then shook Orik's hand, nodding his head once calmly in respect.

"It's an honor to meet you, Lord Orik. May I ask how you know of me?" Alpha responded.

"Princess Leafa informed me of your presence. Now, my good man, may I ask YOU a question?" Orik replied as Aurora dried herself.

Alpha looked at Leafa who gave him a smile as if she was hoping for something. That smile disappeared though when he returned his attention back to Orik calmly without giving her any signs of approval.

"Of course, my liege. Ask me anything you would like to know." Alpha replied, surprising all the dwarves with his eloquence.

"My, you are well mannered. Anyways, may I ask how you were able to conjure up two twisters on your flight here?" he asked.

Alpha looked at his companions, all of them shaking their heads save for Leafa who smiled again, hoping from approval. She then nearly fainted from the look of anger he gave her, signifying that the aforementioned events were to be secret and. However, he only looked at her for a fraction of a second before returning his attention to Orik who was introducing himself to Aurora.

"Ah. It's absolutely amazing for me to be able to lay eyes on you, Lady North. It's truly magnificent that I was given the chance to meet the prestigious Islingr Suicune. I thank you for gracing us with your presence." he said with a friendly grin, being the gentleman he was.

Aurora smiled and bowed her head, amused at the fact that Orik was indeed a gentleman though compared to Alpha, he was not even a quarter of Alpha's level. She also noticed that Alpha suddenly tensed at Orik's flattering comment to her and would have giggled if it weren't for the people present.

 _And it's a great pleasure to meet you, Lord Orik. I thank you for your flattering comments though I wish for you to keep it at a much smaller level please._ Aurora replied with a small laugh.

Orik laughed as well heartily before scratching his head sheepishly. He then redirected his attention back to Alpha who relaxed his body though the act went unnoticed.

"Now, are you going to answer my question? I'm highly interested about it." Orik told Alpha, returning to their conversation.

Alpha, in that millisecond of a moment as Orik ended his question, read the dwarve's aura for any negative signs. He found only positive and friendly signatures.

"I used my magic of course. I have a necklace that acts like a storage for my magic." Alpha replied, showing his necklace that Aurora gave him for his birthday a while back.

Orik nodded in understanding, buying Alpha's half fib, and clapped his hands. He then turned around with a giant smile and happy eyes.

"Let us welcome our special guests! Please! Spread word that there will be a celebration soon!" he announced, throwing every dwarf worker there into a working frenzy.

Orik then bowed to the group, nodding to them.

"I must return to my duties now. Please! Make yourselves comfortable and if any of you need anything, call up one of my workers." he stated merrily before waddling off.

His guards followed him and the group was left to themselves. Leafa nervously walked up to Alpha and gave him an apologetic look.

"I'm s-s-sorry. I wanted to make you look impressive in front of them. I didn't me-."

"It's fine." Alpha stated, his calm tone and expression made those in the room shiver as if Aurora was angry with them.

He then gave Leafa an unreadable look, making them wonder what he was going to do or say next.

"I have to ask you that you refrain from telling anyone else about my abilities. If I want our allies to know of them then I'll let them know. Even then, I won't reveal that much unless needed to." he told her before walking off.

Leafa was literally shaking in fear before he left their line of sight. She then calmed down then looked at them, silently asking them how was she still alive. Aurora merely shrugged and walked over to Ragna and Saphira.

 _You two mind giving me a tour of the place? This place looks beautiful._ she asked them, receiving smiles from both Drakengards.

They nodded and led her out the chamber, Saphira looking over at Leafa before leaving.

 _Don't worry about Alpha. He wouldn't do anything to hurt you or any of us... Unless we set him off._ she told Leafa.

 **On Tronjheim's outskirts, with Alpha...**

Alpha walked along the empty road, thinking to himself. He found that he did this more often ever since he left to train a year back. He thought about his past, the current events unfolding before him, and what may happen in the future. He looked at his hand, turning it over to look at his palm. A ball of shadowflame appeared and stared into it, stopping his walk for the moment.

 _All this power... All the fear that I have spreader in the past and even now... And yet, they still trust me. I still have someone, no, many to call family. I have someone who loves me, Aurora... And she's my mate..._

Alpha smiled at this, thinking how much he had changed and went through after these several years. He then thought about the three ex-legendary Weather Trio, the Heartless, Darugas and the resurrected Knights, Ho-oh, war, Projects, Team Rocket, Eragon, the Lightstalkers, the Ra'zac,... everything they faced on their adventures. He then put out the shadowflame and continued walking down the road.

 _I have killed. I slaughtered. I... I done so many horrid acts yet I have them.._

He stopped and looked up at the sky, thinking about the group's expressions when he created the two cyclones.

 _Am I dangerous to those around me? What do you think about me... Father?... Mother?... Little brother?...Do you all disapprove of me?... I should have done something. I should have stayed. I should have wiped out those villagers before they got to you all!... Please forgive me..._

He stopped walking again and leaned against a nearby wall. He began to blame himself for what happened to his family. He blamed himself for all the injuries Aurora sustained in their adventures. He then jolted as he felt a large spike of energy heading his way. He looked to his right and found a beautiful golden crystal-like object. Within had what looked like a large galaxy full of stars. The object radiated ancient power yet gave off a non-hostile presence.

 _You shouldn't harbor such grim thoughts dark one. I don't know what you are thinking about or what happened to you in your past but I can feel the negativity radiating off of you from all the way in the vault where I was kept which is halfway across the city._ an ethereal voice told him, aged and laced with wisdom.

Alpha, however, still backed away though not in fear or defensively but rather he didn't want to have this conversation.

"Who are you, Great One?" Alpha asked.

 _I am Glaedr, and what you see before you is not whole._

"You're an _Eldunarí._ " Alpha stated, relaxing his body a bit.

 _Indeed. I used to have a body, used to have wings to soar in the sky and teeth to feast upon prey. I was a full dragon but my body was slain by another. Thankfully, I disgorged my heart of hearts before it happened and now here I am. Now, Dark One, what burdens you?_

Alpha sighed, sitting down as Glaedr floated next to his face. A dragon can live on after death though after they disgorged their _Eldunarí._ Their still live on with their bodies though the moment they die, their minds bind themselves to their Eldunarí, enabling them to live on though without a body.

Alpha felt that he could trust the ancient dragon and hesitated for a moment before finally resigning.

"My parents and little brother.. They were murdered when I was a child. Since then, I... "

He told Glaedr about all that had happened to him. He told Glaedr about his pats doubts and his fears. He poured out his mind and feelings to the dragon, unused to talking to anyone but Aurora about his personal issues.

"-and I feel like they disapprove of me now. I'm killed so many and not a single time without hesitation nor did I ever feel any guilt. The opposite, actually. I didn't, no, I still don't care for those I kill... " he trailed off, waiting for Glaedr's input on this.

 _Everyone commits acts that they are not proud of. Even I, one of the most respected dragons and still am, have committed such acts that will never leave my conscious. Do not worry, Dark One, I'm can guarantee you that your family are not looking at your past deeds but instead, your current ones. Think of it like this: Your power... You should be proud that you are using it to protect those you love, those you care about. Tell me, have you ever thought of it that way?_

Alpha looked genuinely surprised for once, growing and looking at his hands again.

"I guess I haven't... _Thank you, Glaedr-elda." (elda=_ master;elder) Alpha told him, the last statement in the Ancient Language.

 _Of course, Dark One._ Glaedr replied.

Alpha nodded and stood up again, giving the Eldunarí a questioning look.

"May I ask how you know who I am?" he asked as he turned around and began to walk away.

 _I oversee many things of nature, being an Eldunarí. It's not a surprise that I happened to pick up on your presence, Lord Fenrir._ he replied as he disappeared in a golden flash.

Alpha walked down the road, feeling suddenly lighter. However, he still wondered what his family, Shadow, Midnight, and Vulcan, truly thought of him.

Alpha later explored more of the city, finding many merry dwarves and about half of which in a rush to prepare the party. As he walked, he noticed on the way that there was a large spiral staircase that seemed to reach to the sky. Shrugging, he decided to climb it, going up stay by step for about ten minutes. When he reached the top, he noticed that ahead of him was a platform that was made out of the largest gem he had ever seen. It was a sapphire, around several yards and length and width and a couple yards in depth. In the center, an image of a five-pointed star was present, the whole thing seeming to radiate awe.

"Amazing what these dwarves can do, eh?" someone said behind him.

Alpha turned around to see a tall man, around 6'2", with long stringy black hair. He had a crooked smile and his white teeth shined brightly in the sun. He had a few scars on his face, one of which seemed to be healing, and several scabbed over cuts on his hands. He had brown eyes and a not so deep voice.

The man extended his hand, bowing his head a little.

"My name is Murtagh, greetings." he stated with a smile.

Alpha shook his hand, finding that Murtagh had a similar presence to Eragon's though that was due to him being the latter's brother.

"Likewise. My name is Alpha Fang." Alpha replied with a respectful nod.

Murtagh smiled and started to walk across the platform to some sort of housing structure ahead of them. Alpha followed him after the man gestured so with his hands.

"I was notified that you came to meet me from Ellesméra?" Murtagh asked, cursing as he tripped over a bucket of water.

"Indeed. I was told that you are the half-brother of Eragon?" Alpha responded, hearing snoring the closer they got to the building.

"Aye, and I learned from a letter that Dathedr sent me that he is still alive. It was quite surprising yet I'm disappointed to find that he is doing what he is. All for revenge it seems... "

"That seems to be the case though I did encounter him this morning around midnight."

Murtagh stopped, looking at Alpha with disbelief.

"And you live? Eragon is the best swordsman and one of the most adept spellcasters I know." Murtagh exclaimed with awe.

"That's what I keep hearing from Dathedr as well. Either Eragon is holding back or he has gotten rusty over the years." Alpha suggested, being humble about the whole situation.

Murtagh shook his head and started to walk again towards the increasing sound of snoring. The snoring had a very deep tone to it, clearly not human as well.

"I don't think my brother would be the type to get rusty or hold back, especially against another swordsman or sorcerer. If I know him, he had been training and sharpening his skills...Thorn! You lazy ingrate! Wake up!" Murtagh exclaimed with a smirk as they rounded and entered the building.

The building was like a hanger-like apartment and inside was a large red dragon. It had two horns at the top of its head and several spikes that ran down its neck. The dragon had an eyebrow-like arch that extended into a wisp on each side of its head above the eyes. It had an orange underbelly and the membrane of its wings were a dark brown.

The dragon yawned and opened its outer eyelid, apparently still wanting to sleep a little more.

 _Yes, Murtagh? What do you need during our VACATION?_ Thorn asked in a deep voice, obviously male.

Murtagh smiled and leaned against the weary dragon's shoulder.

"I would like you to meet someone, someone you thought was a myth of the elves."

Thorn was fully awake now, his inner eyelid opening to reveal his bright orange-red eyes. His pupils were slits as he narrowed his eyes at his Rider.

 _And who exactly do you mean? There are many legends of the elves I find completely ridiculous, even fewer I believe in._

Murtagh gestured at Alpha who bowed his head in respect to the dragon. Thorn looked bewildered and lowered his head down to be level with Alpha's.

"It's a great honor to meet you, Thorn- _elda_. My name is Alpha Fang though most of the elves and dwarves, much to their insistence, refer to me as Lord Fang."

 _...So you're The Alpha?_ Thorn asked.

"Correct."

 _...Swear it in the Ancient Language._

 _"I am The Alpha."_

 _..._

Thorn then began to shake somewhat, backtracking then looking at Murtagh with glee.

 _So he does exists! This is truly amazing!_ Thorn remarked.

"But I thought you don't believe-" Murtagh replied though didn't finish.

 _That's BEFORE I met Lord Fang! I-*GRUMBLE*_

Thorn looked at the ground, slightly embarrassed. Murtagh began to laugh and Alpha allowed a smile to form on his face.

"I think you should go and feed. Though I must say, it was a great pleasure to meet you." Alpha told Thorn who brightened at the words.

Throw then nodded and much to Murtagh's displeasure, picked up his Rider by the neck of his tunic and flew off, Murtagh screaming and flailing as he hung from the dragon's mouth.

Alpha then shook his head with amusement and looked at the large housing before him, seeing multiple others on top of it.

 _So this is the dragonhold? Impressive._ he thought to himself.

 _ **"Howling in the night,**_

 _ **A longing call in the wild,**_

 _ **A lone wolf wishing to unite,**_

 _ **Off in the distance,**_

 _ **His loving companion calls.**_

 _ **Running to meet his love,**_

 _ **His anticipation hurries his stride,**_

 _ **Stopping from time to time,**_

 _ **Making another call,**_

 _ **He is determined to catch his desired.**_

 _ **Distance no longer matters,**_

 _ **Only time to make his mark.**_

 _ **They meet and dance in unison,**_

 _ **Happy to find their mate.**_

 _ **They play and run, jump and dance,**_

 _ **Inviting the other,**_

 _ **To become their life."**_

 **Ryker "Alpha" Fang, Fenrir, 27, 6'5"-height varies, male.**

 **Aurora North, Islingr Suicune, 27, 6'3"- height varies, female.**

 **Ragna White-Death, Drakengard, 28, 6'4"-height varies, male.**

 **Saphira Bjartskular, Drakengard, 28, 6'3"-height varies, female.**

 **Draken WDB, Drakengard, 18, 6'2"-height varies, male.**

 **Lunalesse, dragon, 17, 5'10"- height varies, female.**

 **Dathedr, elf,?, 5'11", male.**

 **Harmonia, elf,?, 5'9", female.**

 **Leafa, elf,?, 5'7", female.**

 **Orik, dwarf,?, 4'11", male.**

 **Eragon Bromsson,?, elf-human, 6'3", male.**

 **Murtagh Morzansson,?, human, 6'4", male.**

 **Thorn, dragon, height varies, male.**


	18. Chapter 2 (DR)

**I have a special surprise for all of you in this chapter! And when I say all of you, I mean the few who are actually reading this fic. I realized that not that many people are reading or reviewing the story and decided that if it continues, I might as well discontinue the story altogether. But for those who actually read this, thank you for being so loyal. Shout out to Idondoshit!**

 _ **"Silent paws trotting**_

 _ **on a well beaten trail,**_

 _ **alone in the wilderness,**_

 _ **so young and yet so strong.**_

 _ **Little yips go unanswered,**_

 _ **the moon is now his guide,**_

 _ **looking for ones just like him,**_

 _ **or have all of them just died?**_

 _ **He sniffs the dampened ground**_

 _ **and senses man everywhere,**_

 _ **the silence is deafening**_

 _ **no howls in the air.**_

 _ **Oh why did he venture**_

 _ **so far from his den,**_

 _ **after his pack fell silent**_

 _ **at the hands of men?**_

 _ **His stomach is growling**_

 _ **but the hunger he'll endure,**_

 _ **his pack family is no longer out**_

 _ **it's their blood he smells for sure.**_

 _ **He stops in his tracks**_

 _ **and raises his head up high,**_

 _ **the terror overwhelms him**_

 _ **as he lets out another cry.**_

 _ **But still there's no answer**_

 _ **he can't understand why,**_

 _ **he'll follow their trail**_

 _ **and he surely will die.**_

 _ **For days now he's traveled**_

 _ **his spirit and body gone weak,**_

 _ **he lies down in white clover**_

 _ **no more energy left to speak.**_

 _ **He later comes to a realization,**_

 _ **and now fights everything all for survival.**_

 _ **He abandons all hope and replaces it with fury,**_

 _ **determined to go on strong.**_

 _ **He takes out all who stands in his way,**_

 _ **yet protects those he cares for in his travels.**_

 _ **Now no longer a pup but a strong Alpha,**_

 _ **his future is now sealed."**_

 **Chpater 2: Why?**

 _There you are. Where were you?_ Aurora asked as Alpha walked into view.

She finished touring the area with Ragna and Saphira and flew off to find Alpha sitting alone on a rocky outcropping above the city.

"I went for a walk." was his reply though she thought that he seemed distracted.

Aurora sighed and laid down next to him, resting her head on his lap.

 _Are you mad at Leafa?_ she asked, wondering if that will get a full response out of him.

"No."

Aurora frowned, concerned about him. She looked up to see him staring at seemingly nothing. It was a blank stare yet apparently he's still aware of her and her questions. Aurora then remembered seeing a red dragon flying out of the area with someone screaming within its maw.

 _Did you meet Murtagh?_ she tried again.

Alpha nodded, not even giving a verbal answer this time.

Aurora sighed with defeat and was about to leave him alone to his thought but nearly jumped in surprise when she felt a warm hand caressing her face. She turned to see Alpha with an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, I was too deep within my own thoughts. Please don't leave." he told her, his tone laced with slight pleading and sadness.

Aurora, now very worried, brought her face up to his, her muzzle making contact with his nose.

 _What's wrong? Did something happen?_

Alpha shook his head slowly and wrapped an arm around her then returning his attention to whatever was below them.

"No, nothing happened. I just need you right now... Actually, I feel like I'm the one who needs you whenever we go on our adventures and into battle. Without you, I'd probably still be the cold killer I was back then... Yes.. That's it. I need you Aurora, more than you'll ever know." he told her.

Aurora nearly cried at this as well as at the fact that his voice was heavy with such sincerity and sadness.. She then gave him a warm smile and kissed him.

 _I think I have an idea._ she told him as he hugged her closer to him.

She then nudged him, giving him another concerned look.

 _Are you sure it's nothing? You can tell me anything, you know? I'm here for you._ she asked him one final time.

Alpha looked at her and gave her a smile, a smile so warm and loving that she felt like it can even capture those with the coldest of hearts and strongest of will.

"I'm sure, Aurora. Besides, if anything, I have to face my own demons." he told her.

She nodded and returned to cuddling with him. They stayed like that for the majority of the day, watching the dwarves prepare the festivities and such. When the day came to afternoon, Aurora looked at Alpha. Said Fenrir was sleeping with a small smile on his face and she smiled as his hand clutched for her paw. She would have stayed like this with him for a while longer but she knew they had to go.

 _Wake up, dear. We must go to the party._ she told him with a soothing voice.

At her voice, Alpha's eyes snapped open and he looked at her. He then registered her words and shook his head.

"I'm sorry but I'm not going." he told her.

Aurora was surprised at this and gave him a questioning look.

 _Why not? They are having a celebration because of us and the others after all._

Alpha chuckled and gave her a quick kiss on the side of her muzzle.

"You can go if you like. I have to go meet Lady Arceus soon." he replied as they got up and stretched.

Aurora wondered why he had to go and as they went back to the city, she questioned him further, her curiosity piqued.

 _An important meeting?_ she asked as some dwarves waved at them when they passed by.

"More like a private one." he stated, waving back at the dwarves.

Aurora nodded and they continued to walk until they saw Ragna and Saphira. They closed the distance between them and Ragna and Saphira were first to speak.

 _Are you two coming to the party?_ Saphira asked.

She had silver armor on though it was studded with sapphires and topaz. She had bracelets around her horns, hornlets, and what almost was like a helmet, a silver crown that only covered the top and back of her head and.

 _And when dwarves host a party, THEY KNOW HOW TO PARTY._ Ragna remarked with a chuckle.

He had a slightly darker silver armor on and it was studded with diamonds and little bits of sapphires. He had a headpiece that covered the entire top half of his muzzle and head while the bottom half remained. He also had a silver tip armor on his tail that was climaxed at the end to reveal his tail flame.

"Aurora said she's going. I'm not though." Alpha replied.

Ragna looked at him with disbelief and his eyes nearly fell out of their sockets.

 _Whatever the reason why? There's going to be great food, dancing, and MEAD! And if I remember correctly, Saphira passed out last time on the dance floor._ Ragna remarked though got elbowed hard in the rib by Saphira who looked at the sky to hide her embarrassment.

Alpha shook his head with a chuckle and summoned a dark portal next to him, ignoring all the curious looks of passing dwarves.

"I have an important meeting. Enjoy the party for me, you three." he replied, waving farewell to them before he left.

When the portal disappeared, Aurora summoned her armor and smiled as she earned looks of amazement from the onlookers. She silently thanked Alpha again for his gift and followed Ragna and Saphira to wherever the party was being held.

 **Hall of Origins**

Alpha stepped out of the portal and walked down one of the many hallways. He made several turns and rounded many corners until he finally reached Jeanne's chambers. The door opened and revealed Jeanne with a small smile on her face.

 _I assumed you were coming back soon._ she told him.

"If you're assuming I'm back for more lashing then you're wrong." Alpha joked as she led him inside.

Jeanne frowned and gave him a concerned look.

 _Speaking of, are they healing properly? And do they still hurt?_ she asked.

Alpha shook his head though he took of his jacket and shirt to reveal five slashes on his back. Four of them went symmetrically diagonal, crossing each other while one ran straight up in the middle of them. They looked somewhat recent and they seemed to be healing well. However, it was hard to tell with the black tribal lines that were on his back.

"No they don't hurt but they're healing up well. Besides, if they were hurting and if they weren't healing well, I'm sure it's still less than what I deserve." he replied to her with a grim smile.

Jeanne felt guilty even though she wasn't. She remembered how shocked she and her mate was when Alpha came to them a year back, apologizing and asking for a punishment due to him attacking the Legendaries. They decided five whip slashes to the back would suffice though it seems that Alpha didn't think that was enough for him to atone.

A couple of hours later, Jeanne told Alpha that she gathered the needed energy needed to perform the ritual.

 _Are you sure you're ready for this?_ Jeanne asked as he put his shirt and jacket back on.

Alpha looked as she opened a portal and nodded.

"I am." he replied.

Jeanne nodded and took a deep breath before releasing a mystical cry into the portal. After a few moments, the portal started to glow golden and two figures walked out. Alpha's heart rate increased as he saw them though he tried to remain at least visibly calm. In front of him was two people, a male and a female. The man had blue eyes and very dark, almost black silver hair that reached all the way down to his shoulders. The man also had a strong build, being similar in muscular physique to Alpha as well as being similar in height. The man was wearing a dark gray suit and had a black tie to match.

The woman had fiery red eyes, complete with silver hair that reached all the way down to her hips. She had a wine red dress on and a small but noticeable muscular build though it didn't hamper her feminine look. Actually, it was a lot similar to Aurora's human muscular build due to training.

Both the man and the woman looked at Alpha with a stern look. Alpha then began to shake and allowed a small whine. Jeanne looked on with bewilderment, never before she had seen him so submissive. Alpha then lowered his head, avoiding the two's gaze.

"Hello.. Mother, Father..." he said in a low tone.

Shadow and Midnight stared at him and Alpha can just feel their eyes drilling into his back. He then began to panic. What did they think of him? Did they hate him? And was he so disapproving to them that his little brother, Vulcan, didn't bother coming to see him? He then nearly clutched his chest as his heart jumped in surprise when his parents hugged him.

"Oh, Ryker.. It's been too long. I really missed you, son." Midnight told him, tears falling down her cheeks.

"And you've grown quite a bit, son." his father added, letting a tear or two fall as well.

Alpha continued to shake and looked at them with disbelief.

"Y-Y-You don't hate me?" he asked with apprehension.

Midnight and Shadow looked at each other questioningly, then back at their son with concerned expressions.

"What do you mean? Of course we're not mad at you. We really happy to see you!" Midnight told him.

Shadow though knew what Alpha was talking about and remained silent. Midnight looked at her mate with a questioning look then back at her son who flinched as her hand came near his face.

"I... killed so many that day... I killed so many afterwards.. And even now I do... I don't even have a thread of guilt so how can you two be happy to see me?!" Alpha responded, distraught.

He then was sent hurling back into a wall though amazingly, it withstood the impact. Alpha got up and winced as he felt some pain from his face. He then looked at his father who was the one who punched him in the first place. Midnight looked her mate incredulously, knowing full well that a punch alone wouldn't kill her son but then again she still felt overly protective over him.

"What happened in the past stays in the past. And some things have to be done for the greater good. Sometimes, the things we do are out of our control so don't think we hate you, son." Shadow told him.

He then got in a offensive stance and looked at Alpha who looked confused.

"Now I know we didn't raise you to think like that, Ryker. So why don't you snap out of it and defend yourself?" Shadow added before charging.

Jeanne immediately changed their location to the arena within the Hall of Origins. As soon as she did, she heard a growling from Alpha and looked on amazed as he sidestepped and punched his father in the gut. Alpha then elbowed Shadow in the back, sending the Fenrir into the ground. Noticing that Alpha overcame his submission, Shadow then got up with lightning speed and sweeped Alpha's legs from under him with his feet. Before Alpha made contact with the ground, Shadow pulled him back by his shoulder and punched Alpha in the face. However, Alpha didn't budge and grabbed Shadow's wrist, gripping it tightly. Shadow winced as he tried to relinquish his hand from Alpha's grip but failed, then yelled out in slight pain as Alpha kicked him into a nearby wall. When the dust settled, a dark blue beam of fire with trails of darkness blasted from the area and into Alpha's chest, sending him into a wall as well. Shadow stepped out of the hole in the wall and cracked his neck, failing to notice his son firing a beam of his own though this one was different, black flames that was surrounded with darkness. It connected with Shadow and he was blown into the sky. Alpha then took this chance and landed several punches to his father's body, a few to the stomach, a couple to the back, a couple to the face, and a couple to the chest before his father hit the ground.

Midnight looked on, shocked and incredulous. Jeanne sweatdropped as she witnessed the fight as well.

 **Tronjheim..**

 _Let'sssser dance!_ Saphira slurred at Ragna as she pulled him onto the dancefloor, careful and avoiding stepping on the other guests.

She sloppily danced, flapping her wings with awkward thrusts and rolling her head to side to side. Ragna, who was only slightly buzzed, chuckled as he danced along with her. He looked at Aurora who was taking a sip of the mead as well though like him, slightly buzzed.

 _Yeah! Go Saphira!_ Aurora cheered with a laugh.

Saphira, encouraged by this, began to dance more furiously. The other dwarves, just as drunk as her, cheered and swayed along with her movements. Thorn was present and he was already passed out with a couple dozen of barrels of mead next to him. Murtagh was laying on the dragon's side, passed out as well and muttering slightly in his sleep as some mead leaked from a barrel and seeped into his clothes and wetting Thorn as well. Leafa, who didn't mind drinking as well, was passed out as well, snoring and laying on Thorn's tail.

They had been parting for a while now, several dwarves laid knocked out on the floor while the others remained standing or dancing. Aurora spotted Orik, whose face was bright red, dancing with what looked like a broom with a hastily drawn face. She shook her head, amused at the sight and returned to drinking her mead which amazingly, didn't get her drunk...not that she planned on it anyways. She then looked at the sun which was setting, wondering what Alpha was doing at the moment.

 **Hall of Origins Arena...**

Alpha punched his father, who had transformed into his Fenrir form, on the muzzle and jumped back as Shadow snapped at him. Shadow, in his Fenrir form, had dark-silver fur with black tribal lines covering him. However, unlike Alpha's, the lines only covered his chest and face area as well as being asymmetrical. It only covered his left side and on his right was instead streams of blue flames that ran along his forearm and shoulder. Shadow actually resembled Alpha's body when the latter first showed Aurora his true self. The reason was because unlike Alpha, Shadow didn't unlock his evolution neither was he as powerful as Alpha. Midnight was also like Shadow and was currently sitting next to Jeanne. Midnight had silver fur that was lighter in shade than Shadow's and had red tribal lines that only covered her face, being symmetrical with circular patterns. Really, the only way to find the resemblance between the family was by looking at their tribal patterns. Every Fenrir had their own patterns but they all share a common feature with their families. In this case, Alpha has tribal lines that covered his face like his mother though they were slashes instead of circular and they pointed inwards. Like his father, Alpha also had tribal markings on his chest. The only thing you could tell they were family was by looking at the points of the patterns. The three of them all have pointed tribal lines and other Fenrir could have rounded, edged, or all three. Really, even before man wiped out the Fenrir, there was only seven families and it was easy to tell who belonged to which.

 _Come on, son! Fight me for real!_ Shadow snarled at Alpha.

Midnight was about to intervene but stopped when she heard a low growl from Alpha.

"If you say so, Father..." Alpha muttered as he transformed.

He got on all fours and disappeared, surprising the three of them. They then felt a powerful output of power. She then heard flapping wings and looked up to see Alpha in his Fenrir form. However, a veil of darkness covered his body so the only thing they could make put was his wings and eyes which were black save for his white irises. He then fired a shadowfire ball at Shadow who quickly dodged it, knowing that his son's flames can burn even other Fenrir. However, the attack was a distraction and Alpha was suddenly behind Shadow, growling menacingly. In that split second, Shadow was appalled.

 _Truly amazing._ he thought to himself before he was slammed into a nearby wall thanks to a bat of Alpha's wings.

Shadow groaned as he stood back up, seeing Alpha sitting in the middle of the arena staring right back at him. Yes, he was intimidated by his son and the veil of darkness that covered Alpha didn't help much. Then, all of a sudden, Midnight ran in between them and flared out her wings.

 _Enough Shadow! Same goes for you, Ryker!_ she told them.

Alpha transformed back into his human form and lowered his head, his body covered with bruises and cuts from the fight. The same could be said for Shadow though he was even more damaged than the former.

 _Now,_ Midnight told them as she led them back to Jeanne who was still shocked, _let's continue with our reunion._

 **An hour or so later...**

Later, they were back in Jeanne's chambers since the two parents could not stay in the world of the living for long. Jeanne reopened the portal and before they left, Alpha's parents hugged him one last time.

"Remember son, we will always be proud of you... And make sure you keep your mate happy." his mom told him with a giggle.

Alpha blushed and averted his gaze from her, only to hear his father chuckle. Shadow hugged him with an arm and patted Ryker's back.

"She's right, you know... about both things. And don't worry about us, we'll always stay close to you." Shadow told him.

"What about Vulcan? Where is he?" Alpha asked, terribly missing his little brother.

His parents looked at each other then at Jeanne. They then returned their attention to Alpha.

"Can you wait a while longer? Just a little but longer?" Midnight asked him, Alpha suddenly saddening at her response.

"Of course I can.. I just miss him.. " Alpha replied.

His parents smiled and gave him a reassuring look.

"Don't worry son, you'll see him soon." Shadow told him before waving farewell.

"We love you, son! Don't ever forget that!" Midnight told him with tears in her eyes.

Alpha looked at them, a smile finally finding its way into his face.

"I love you too, Mother, Father." he replied, somehow making his father cry as well.

They waved goodbye for a final time before disappearing within the portal. Jeanne then closed it and floated over to Alpha with a smile.

 _How do you feel?_ she asked.

"A lot better.. Much better.. Thank you, Jeanne." Alpha replied, his smile still present.

 _So what are you going to do now, Alpha?_ she asked happily.

Alpha turned around and opened a portal heading for Tronjheim.

"I'm going to finish helping out Ragna and Saphira... And it's Ryker, Jeanne. I realized that I should go by the name my parents gave me and I'm proud to say it." he told her with a bright smile.

Jeanne nodded, surprising Ryker by hugging him before leaving as well. Ryker chuckled and left the Hall of Origins, wondering what the others were doing without him.

 **Tronjheim...**

Saphira drunkenly bowed to Orik and nearly fell forward, giggling as she righted herself with embarrassment. Ragna, now drunk, bowed to Orik as well but without any sloppiness or drunken movements. The dwarves laughed at this and Saphira glared at Ragna, deciding to get revenge. She then "accidentally" slid her tail against his crotch area, making her mate yelp and trip. The dwarves laughed even harder at this and the scene caused Aurora to laugh as well. She then blinked, her eyes burning from the the mead. However, Aurora knew how to hold her liquor as most Legendaries do though she knew her limits. She set down her barrel and looked at the night sky, yawning and stretching her limbs. She then got up and after bidding farewell to Orik, dismissed herself from the party.

She walked down the path, the mead that had dulled her senses already fading away. As she walked, she spotted Ryker waiting for her with a warm smile, making her smile as well when she noticed there was something positively different about him.

"Did you enjoy the party, dear?" he asked as he walked up to her.

He hugged her and she kissed him on the cheek.

 _I did though I wish you were there to see how much drunken fun Ragna and Saphira had. In fact, they're still at the party._ she told him as they walked down the road.

Ryker chuckled and shook his head, surprising her by lifting her up and carrying her.

"So, since it's late I don't think we should leave this city yet. Did they may already show you where the rooms are?" he asked, ignoring all the looks he received from the onlookers.

 _Well we can go to the dragonhold. There's several floors and we can just have one to ourselves._ she replied with a smile.

"Well that's where we'll be going then. I haven't had a good night's sleep yet and you had a few drinks."

Aurora shook her head with a roll of her eyes and rested her head onto the crook of his neck, loving how that area was always so warm. She then realized that she hadn't yet told him the location of the area but he already started headed towards it.

"I met with Murtagh at the dragonhold." he told her, answering her unasked question.

He then ran with her still in his arms, earning shouts of surprise from her. He then found the spiral staircase, taking extraordinary leaps and reaching the top in only a few steps. He then ran up to the hold and jumped up several floors, taking the very top floor for themselves.

 _Warn me next time before you do that again, Ryker._ Aurora said with a giggle as he set her down.

She then looked at him, wondering if he still rather her call him Alpha. However, the happiness in his eyes told her otherwise. Ryker took a look at their room for the night, finding it large and around the size of two basketball courts. There was a large indent in the center of the room much like Ryker's cave back at. Mt. Moon. There was some artistry on the walls and overall, the hold looked really nice. Ryker looked out of the entrance of their hold and stared at the moon, smiling. It was full and its light seemed to calm his tensed muscles much like Aurora does whenever she's around. He then felt her nudge his shoulder instead of his hand, Aurora being in her **Natural Form.** Ryker turned around and hugged her face to his with an arm.

 _I don't know what but something about you changed._ she told him with a smile.

Ryker gave her a warm smile, taking a deep breath then exhale.

"Let's just say I slew my demons." he told her before kissing her.

Aurora smiled and giggled when he picked her up and led her to their sleeping area. He then set her down gently, though due to her being bigger than him challenged things, and began to undress. He laid his jacket folded neatly a couple of feet away and when he took off his shirt, Aurora gasped as she barely made out the healing slash marks underneath his tribal lines.

 _Are those..?_ she asked him, earning a low sigh from him.

"They are. Don't worry, they'll disappear soon. You'd think after a year they'd be gone by now though." he replied, giving her a small smile intending to lighten her mood.

Aurora examined the marks, wanting to heal them but knowing with defeat that Ryker wouldn't want her to. She then noticed with awe how his tribal lines seem to give out a feeling of authority.

 _What do you call these?_ she asked, wondering why she didn't investigate into them before.

Ryker took a look at his body, eyeing the symmetrical trial patterns.

"They are my family brands. Born with them, the color as well as the type of lines they are as in sharp or pointed, flat or edged, dull or curved, thick or thin, and even dashed. My family brands are sharp, an inch thick, and black. The same goes for all of my relatives and such. However, the symmetry, patterns, and the way they are lining my body are my own unique characteristics. My mother had them on the left side of her face, they were red, and her patterns were circular. My father had them on his entire left arm and shoulder, diamond patterned, and black. My brother had them running all over his body like mine but they were red, and ziz-zagged. Other than those unique phenotypes, My species can also have flames either running along the lines or among them. My brother and mother didn't have them but my father did. He had them on his opposite arm and side, blue and flaring with low intensity. For me, I have them flaring on my lines very high intensity though sometimes you can't tell since my flames are the same color as my family brands which are the same color as my fur... black. Each of our family brands have their own unique meanings as well. No two Fenrir ever have the same brand meanings, at least in the same patterns anyway. They could mean two to multiple different meanings. I remember that my father's meant "Bold" and "Protective." My mother's was "Love" and "Calm." My brother's meant "Fierce", "Brave", and "Strong."..."

Aurora nodded as he took off his pants leaving himself only in his shorts. He then laid down against her side like the night before and began to stroke her mane.

 _What about yours? Don't they mean something too?_ she asked.

Alpha nodded, avoiding her gaze though still stroking her mane.

"They mean three things.. "Dark Alpha of the Alphas", "Dread", and... "End."..." he answered, his voice lowering to a quiet tone.

Aurora nodded, resting her head on his lap. She then surprised him by nibbling on his neck, making him chuckle and such.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he tried to pry her off.

Aurora giggled and continued her assault on him, unrelenting and merciless.

 _Having fun._ she simply replied with playfulness.

She pushed him onto his back and pinned him. She then gave him a mischievous look and began to scan his upper body.

 _I wonder if you are ticklish._ she asked deviously.

"Then you already failed. I don't have any." Ryker replied with a laugh.

 _Oh really?_ she responded as she began to nuzzle random spots on his body.

 _Here?_ she asked.

"No." he replied.

 _Here?_

"No."

 _How about here?_

"You can't keep looking if you like."

Aurora pouted and stopped her endeavor. Ryker chuckled in triumph and was about to get up but she prevented him from doing so by laying her whole body on top of him. She rested her head on his chest and curled her tails around his legs.

 _Good night, Ryker._ she told him with a giggle.

Ryker rolled his eyes and kissed her, embracing her and messaging her wings.

 _Good night, Aurora._ he told her mentally before sleep overcame the both of them.

As they slept, Ragna and Saphira returned to the dragonhold and decided to sleep on the very bottom. If one was awake, one could see Saphira walking into the walls several times and Ragna passing put out on the floor.

The next morning, Ryker woke up early and smiled as he saw Aurora's contented smile in her sleep. He then moved out from under her, placing his folded jacket underneath her as he went. He then got dressed into jeans and a plain gray shirt and left the room after placing a ward for protection on Aurora.

He jumped and landed several floors down on the ground below, catching Murtagh's attention as said man flew into view with Thorn.

"Ah. Lord Fang. How are you on this fine morning?" Murtagh asked, getting off of Thorn and patting the dragon's side.

"Pretty well, thank you. And you?" Ryker asked as he respectively bowed at Thorn who smiled and returned the gesture.

"Good. Good. Now, I believe we have to attend to the matter of my brother?" Murtagh stated as he looked past Ryker.

"What happened to them?" he added, Ryker turning around to see what the man meant.

Ragna and Saphira were indeed sleeping but the latter was laying on top of the former as well as being back to back. Their wings are sprawled out and their legs are as well. Ragna's mouth was open as he slept and some birds picked at the small particles of food on his teeth from the celebration the night before.

"Most likely last night." Ryker explained, noticing Murtagh's smile and Thorn's chuckle.

"Thorn and I were knocked out after downing some mead and ended up sleeping on the floor at the party. Thankfully, no hangovers." he explained as he turned around and began walking towards the flight of stairs. Ryker followed him close behind and Thorn met them on the way down. They continued to walk further into the city and eventually, came to a stop before a large door.

 _This is a scrying chamber. Well be able to search him quite easily through it. The only downside is that it will require Murtagh's blood._ Thorn explained as they entered.

Ryker nodded to the information and followed Murtagh to one of the many scrying stations. Murtagh then began to prepare the scrying process, using charcoal to draw a patterned hexagon and such.

An hour later, Murtagh pricked his finger with a dagger and let the blood drop onto the center of the circle. At that moment, Aurora and the two Drakengards walked in with curious expressions. Aurora informed them that they followed the Fenrir's mental signature after they woke up and Ryker explained why they were there.

"It's starting." Murtagh announced as an orb of magic rose from the circle.

Everyone looked on as it flashed and pulsed. Then, as if unstable, it contorted and rippled. It then flashed and showed a scene of multiple buildings in Ellesméra burning, the residents running with panic through the streets as Ra'zac and Lightstalkers chased them down.

 _We need to get back there, now!_ Saphira announced and they nodded, leaving the large chamber after Murtagh dispelled the orb.

They ran into Orik outside who wondered why they were in such a hurry. They explained that Ellesméra was being attacked and he immediately stopped asking them questions and urged them to go. Before leaving Tronjheim, Saphira found Leafa and told her of the situation. The princess immediately mounted onto Saphira's back and when they were all ready, took flight with Ryker in the lead.

 _You must be adapt in magic._ Murtagh remarked, referring to Ryker's wings.

Ryker nodded and continued to fly, stopping when he noticed two specks in the horizon.

"I want you all to go on with haste!" he shouted to them as they stopped as well.

 _Why are you stopping?_ Ragna asked.

"Lethrblaka!" Ryker responded, pointing at the specks.

Immediately, Ragna ushered them out of the area and led them towards the city, much to Aurora's disagreement. As they left, the specks seemed to change direction and go after them. Ryker, however, sped up and got between them before they got any closer. He looked at the two before summoning his swords.

The Lethrblaka were large dragon-sized insects with large wings and sharp beaks. They are a pale yellow in color and their eyes are a deep orange. They have two claws per leg, three on the hind ones, and four rows of teeth. They screeched at Ryker who wasn't fazed in the slightest. Ryker then summoned his swords, calmly looking both Lethrblaka in the eyes.

 _"Your master, Eragon, just sent you to your death... "_ he said in Umbralupinese.

They began to cower in fear but found their resolve and charged at him, baring their teeth. Ryker jumped onto one of their heads and slashed at its neck, sending it shrieking and rumbling into the sand. The other Lethrblaka turned around and snapped at him, only for it to have its jaws smacked away with the flat of his blade. He then jumped off the back of the downed Lethrblaka and flew up to the sky, scanning for Aurora and the group. They were nowhere to be seen and he nodded to himself, concluding that he all he had to do was to finish his business there. Ryker then returned his attention back to the Lethrblaka as the previously downed one flew up at him, screeching all the while. Ryker simply descended with a quick burst of speed and raised his sword, dragging it down across the Lethrblaka's stomach. At this time, the other Lethrblaka spat some sort of acid at him. Ryker brought up a flame wall and dissipated the acid. He then fired a fireball at the Lethrblaka and a twilight ball at the other, hitting both foes simultaneously with one burning in agony and the other being sliced in multiple areas by the shadows as well as screaming as the darkness invades it's mind. For those who look, it would be hard to decide which would be worse to get hit by.

Ryker then sped towards the ground and landed, the pressure of his aura and power making a crater-like circle about several feet into the ground. He then looked up to see both Lethrblaka crash into the ground, the sound of the bones snapping and bending filled the air. He then looked at their bodies which were mangled, contorted, and their limbs bent at strange unorthodox angles. He prepared to take off but suddenly, six more Lethrblaka landed near him, all angry and baring their teeth at him. Ryker took one look at them and took a deep breath, exhaling as a ring of fire trapped all of the Lethrblaka within as well as a sealed off roof if fire to prevent them from flying off. He then stretched his neck, popping it and relieving some of its tension. He then yawned, his fangs intimidating the Lethrblaka. Finally, he shut his mouth, smoke escaping his nostrils.

"Well, I got my training." he muttered.

 **Ellesméra**

"Put out the fires and help the people!" Murtagh shouted over to Aurora as they neared the city.

Aurora nodded and flew faster, spraying burning buildings with her chilling water. Murtagh then looked at Saphira and Leaf and gestured to the palace which was burning even more than the buildings.

They nodded and Saphira flew then to the palace with haste. Murtagh then looked at Ragna and nodded.

"Let's take care of the Ra'zac and Lightstalkers." he stayed and they descended into the city.

The three landed and Murtagh pulled out an iridescent red sword with a blue gem in the pommel and a red flare with its movements. Za'roc it was called. Ragna transformed into his human form and brandished his sword as well, figuring that it would be easier to find off enemies _without_ collateral damage.

Ragna narrowed his eyes at a charging Ra'zac, ducking as it leapt at him. He then, while the Ra'zac was still airborne, spun around and slashed the disgusting being into two right at the midsection. He then saw two Lightstalkers run at him, uttering incoherent words and the like. Ragna trapped them with a flame wall, forcing them to hiss at the bright blue flames. He then jumped into the air, performing an assault dive out the way down and taking out the two Lightstalkers. He then dispelled the wall of flames then ran down a randomly chosen Street, hacking and slashing away at every enemy he came across.

Murtagh gave a yell as he gave a strong slash to the chest of a Lightstalker. He then kicked it, sending it screeching into a mass of burning debris. He then trusted his hand out at the debris as he spotted a group of Ra'zac running at him.

 _"Stenr rïsa!"_ he shouted in the Ancient Language, sending the debris into the Ra'zac mob.

They screeched in pain as they were either crushed or thrown back by the rubble. Murtagh then ducked as a Ra'zac was thrown passed him, finding the cause was Thorn was was currently snapping at three different other Ra'zac. Murtagh then laughed as one of them tried to stab at Thorn's knee which actually tickled the large, red dragon of whom was currently laughing due to the unintentional tickle. Thorn then recompiled himself and began to attack the Ra'zac that were bugging him (no pun intended, mind you). Murtagh then returned his attention to some more oncoming Lightstalkers and smiled wickedly, somehow finding glee in terminating his enemies.

 **With Saphira and Leafa...**

Saphira swatted the Ra'zac away with her wings, sending it crashing into the palace wall which amzingly withheld the impact. She then turned to see Leafa throw multiple daggers at once into the head of a giant Lightstalker. It roared in pain and melted into a dark mass of nothing,leaving no evidence that it was even there. Leafa then jumped onto the railing of the stairway leading to the ballroom and kicked another Lightstalker, though a smaller one this time, in the chest and sent it into a pillar. Saphira returned her attention to her own enemies though strangely only finding a single Ra'zac the size of an elementary schooler. Baffled, she cooked her head at it, the child Ra'zac doing the same. She then jumped in mild shock as the Ra'zac shrieked and leapt at her, its daggers aimed straight for her neck. She barely dodged it in time and countered by successfully clawing its back. The child Ra'zac shrieked in pain and glared at her, as if wondering how to kill her. Saphira smiled and sneered at it, as if challenging the child Ra'zac to make a move. Not much to her surprise, it did and performed an aerial flip. However, Saphira clipped one of its legs with a claw and sent it spiraling to the ground before her. She then released a torrent of flames at it, recoiling as she heard it scream in agony as well as smelling the scent of insect skin burning.

Leafa threw two more daggers at the medium sized Lightstalker, killing it almost instantaneously then moving one. She made her way passed a harder of Lightstalkers and Ra'zac so she dug into her pocket, taking out an elven grenade produced by arcane means. Once she distanced herself, she threw the grenade which was actually a bottle and covered her eyes as a bright flash of light occurred. She looked at what used to be a mass of beings of evil only to find smears and traces of whatever was left of their bodies. She then saw Saphira beckoning her and followed the blue dragoness to the ballroom, finding both Dathedr and Harmonia fending off the horde of enemies. Dathedr was using a scimitar and Harmonia was using a spiked staff. Both of them, however, did devastating damage against the enemy ranks.

"Mother! Father!" Leafa cried out, drawing the the attention of the elven rulers.

They spotted hernandez immediately began making their way towards her. Saphira released a torrent of flames from her maw, torching some nearby Ra'zac. She then swiped with her claw, slashing some Lightstalkers into the air.

 _We need to get out of here!_ Saphira warned them as a piece of the ceiling fell in front of her.

"All of those who were in the palace had evacuated already. We don't need to worry about staying behind to wait for them." Harmonia told her.

Saphira nodded and turned around, facing another horde of their enemies. She then growled and charged forward, knocking clumps of them away whilst filling the air with flames to burn what she missed. The royal elves followed her, eventually ending up outside to deal with the remaining chaos around them.

 _Evacuate with your people and make sure they make it out safely._ Saphira told them, getting nods of agreement for responses.

 **With Aurora**

 _Go to your mother, little one._ Aurora told the child soothingly.

The little girl nodded with happiness as she ran to her mother, the latter crying in joy that her daughter was safe. The elven mother then made the sign of respect to Aurora who bowed in return. Aurora then turned around and spotted several more burning buildings and the like. She then saw an Urgal fighting off two Lightstalkers. His two children were cheering him on though they were hiding behind a crate. Aurora then leapt into action as she saw a Ra'zac sneaking up in the children with murderous intent. The Ra'zac raised its daggers and gave a screech of victory, catching the children's attention and earning cries of fear from them. Their father defeated the Lightstalkers and turned around just in time to see Aurora dispatch the Ra'zac with and ice blade that she summoned from her shoulder. She then nodded to the Urgal man, earning a bow of thanks in return. Aurora then jumped and began running across the roofs, jumping onto several different buildings and putting out fires.

The mayhem continued for what seemed like several hours though in reality only lasted for an hour and a half. Cries of panic could be heard in the city followed by the occasional cheers of triumph due to the heroes. In all that bustling, no one noticed the cloaked figure approaching near the city gates.

"So he fended me off in a fight and disarmed me like I was a novice swordsman. He can dispel my cyclones and grow large wings. And now, I bet he's regretting crossing me and is suffering by the Lethrblaka. Now, down to business." Eragon muttered to himself before blasting open the gates.

Anyone watching could notice that he abandoned using verbal magic and was casting a incantation without fear of risking himself in the process. Though it was much safer to cast a spell in the Ancient Language verbally, to cast it without the use of words makes it much more powerful. Eragon walked into the city, smiling as unrest invaded all of its population. He then sneered as he noticed that there were few remains Ra'zac and Lightstalkers compared to the army he sent earlier. Eragon drew his sword and began to hover in the air, finding his two main objectives: Saphira and Aurora. He sped through the air, reaching Saphira in a matter of seconds. He swung his sword and successfully struck her shoulder, spraying dragonic blood onto the floor below. Saphira bellowed in pain and attracted the attention of her companions who were all enraged by Eragon's presence.

 _What do you want with us?_ Saphira snarled, creating some distance between her and the man long thought to be dead.

"Easy. For you I want revenge. For the Islingr Suicune though... I'll need to consume her heart to become more powerful. However, this after I absorb your _Eldunarí_ , of course." he replied while summoning razor wisps of wind.

He sent them at Saphira who managed to evade them and retaliate by bathing the area in a torrent of flames. Eragon, however, casted a barrier to shield himself though didn't count on Ragna interfering. Said Drakengard abandoned his human form and tackled Eragon's barrier, shattering it instantly. He then swatted Eragon into the ground with his wing.

"Stop this madness, brother! You can't win!" Murtagh called out with a pleading voice as he neared Eragon.

Eragon simply groaned in reply and looked up at Murtagh who offered a hand. Eragon grabbed then unexpectedly kneed his brother in the stomach then driving his sword into the taller man's chest.

 _Murtagh!_ Thorn roared as he charged at them.

Eragon smirked as he kicked Murtagh away who landed with a sickening thud onto a nearby burning cart. Thorn snarled and swiped at Eragon who simply jumped out of the way. He then drove his sword into the red dragon's side, earning a growl of annoyance from Thorn. Thorn then caught Eragon off guard by rolling, intending to crush Eragon under his weight. Instead, Eragon leapt into the air once more, smiling as his sword was driven even deeper into Thorn's body. Thorn groaned in pain as he stood up, realizing what he had just done to himself. He then narrowed his eyes at Eragon who smirked smugly at him.

 _Fuck. You._ was the dragon's response before he collapsed due to the loss of blood.

Eragon laughed maniacally as he withdrew his sword from Thorn. He then turned around to see Saphira and Ragna as well as Aurora snarling at him. He then pulled out four rods and threw them into the air. The landed around Saphira and when Eragon waved his finger, she became trapped within a cage of electricity. She cried out in pain whenever she accidently touched the current.

"Like my new toy? Developed it myself and I'd say it's working perfectly." Eragon announced smugly as he neared them.

 _Damn you!_ Ragna cursed as he tried to break Saphira free, ignoring the immense pain as he was constantly shocked due to his attempts of removing the cage.

Aurora looked at him as his paws began to blacken and smoke. She wanted to stop him but knew he wouldn't. She wouldn't either. Aurora then turned to face Eragon with an intense glare.

 _I'm going to end you._ Aurora threatened as Eragon brandished his sword.

She then surprised him by turning into her human form, though appeared completely human as Ryker taught her. The only difference from her anthromorph form was that in human form, she lacked her crest and wings as well as her tails. Aurora also had her armor present, which nearly put Eragon into a lusty trance. Her armor was that of the medium class and it covered her legs though ended in heels on her feet. She had sapphires studded on her chest piece which showed a bit of her upper chest and hugged her breasts. She had armor resembling a skirt hanging from her waist and though she looked amazingly beautiful this way, she also had an intimidating look to her with her glare and whatnot. She then summoned her weapon, a silver bow lined with sapphire that glowed much like her armor and necklace. Its edges were sharp and the ends were curved back to her. There were intricate runes engraved into the bow and when translated, reads "Hush" in the Ancient Language of Alph. The bowstring, Eragon noticed, was missing. She didn't have any arrows either it seems.

All of a sudden, she pinched the space in front of her, pulling back to reveal a sparkling transparent bowstring of light that had an arrow of the same energy though it had a freezing aura to it placed as well. She then released it, the arrow whizzing through the air before it found its mark on Eragon's shoulder. Eragon winced and gasped in pain as he ran and took cover behind a wall. He then began to curse out in pain as his shoulder began to burn from both the Light energy and the dry ice shards embedded into his skin. When he recovered, he darted into the open and thrusted his hand at Aurora who instantly jumped down to the road as multiple rock spears demolished the spot where she just stood. Aurora sent three more arrows at Eragon with blinding speed, the swordsman barely avoiding them all though one skimmed his cheek which hissed with contact.

Eragon took a deep breath before charging at Aurora who held her ground. He then swung at her only to be blocked by her bow. She then surprised him further by separating her bow into two curved daggers and stabbing at his stomach. She succeeded in her attack and inflicted two semi-deep wounds onto Eragon's stomach which began bleeding profusely. Eragon gritted his teeth and retreated, healing himself on the way. Aurora, however, wasn't making it easy for him. She charged and began swiftly swinging her blades at him with determination. Eragon managed to black only about half of her attacks. The other half showed on his body in cuts and gashes. Aurora then ducked as he swung his sword over the spot where her head had just been and stepped her one of her feet across his legs. He fell backwards though when he was still suspended in the air, she used the momentum in her attack and spun around, slashing Eragon's chest twice more before he landed with a thud on the ground.

Aurora breathed calmly, secretly thanking all of her years of training herself as well as training with Ryker though he didn't see her in this form yet neither did he know about her dual-bladed bow. She then took a step back as Eragon picked himself up, giving her a furious glare. He then said a Word, one of which she felt enormous power from though for some reason she can't recall what he said. He said the Word again, this time making her get on her knees with her arms crossed behind her back. She found that she couldn't control her movements and that she whatever she tried didn't work. Eragon smiled with sickening glee and kicked her, sending her into a wall. He then punched her stomach, making her cough up harshly and spit up blood. Eragon chuckled and took his sword, slashing it across her and leaving several large cuts on her body. Aurora cried out in pain though she refused to cry in front of her enemy.

"When I'm done with your body, maybe I'll reconsider consuming your heart." he told her with lust.

He then smacked her face a few times, making her see stars. Above them, Ragna was still trying to break Saphira free who was still crying out in pain as the caged shocked her. By now, Ragna's paws were completely black and he resorted to using his shoulder to somehow ram and shatter the electric rods. Murtagh and Thorn both regained consciousness though they couldn't move, their injuries too serious and their energies depleted. They could only look on with despair as Eragon beat down Aurora.

Eragon stopped his assault and began assaulting Aurora again but this time, sexually. He felt her thighs and traced his finger across her cheeks. His eyes then focused on her breasts which were still covered by her armor. He began to breath heavily, slowly inching his hand closer to her womanhood which was still covered by her armor and such. He didn't bother taking them off... yet. Aurora began crying out as he fondled her breasts underneath her metal plates, wincing in pain as he handled them harshly. At that moment, all movements stopped and a feeling of dread made its way down everyone's back, including Aurora's.

In the center of the plaza they were in, dark tendrils began to form and black flames surrounded the area. First, an armored arm formed, then came the other, the legs, the lower and upper body, then the face. They all looked with fear as Ryker growled menacingly, the sclera of his eyes now black. His armor was stained with blood and the same could be said with his face. Ryker then summoned his swords, both giving off dark auras and wrapped with black flames.

"You," Eragon sneered as he removed his hand from Aurora, "are supposed to be dead!"

Ryker suddenly appeared in front of Eragon and gripped the Shadeslayer's face, making him scream in agony as Ryker slowly began to crush his head. Ryker then warped behind him and kicked Eragon away into an abandoned merchant shop. He then directed his attention to Aurora.

 _"... I should have been here sooner."_ he told her in Umbralupinese.

Aurora shook her head and smiled weakly at him as he began to heal her.

"I'll be fine. I can't move though." she replied, making him frown.

 _"The Word of Words.."_ he muttered.

At this time though, Aurora noticed how he was healing her with shock. Freshly made cuts were made on his face and what happened was too shocking for her to register for a second. The blood that leaked from the cuts transformed into an energy of some kind and enveloped her body, healing the cuts and bruises as well as any other injury. She wanted to protest against this but found that she was too speechless to say anything. Ryker continued to do this and when he finished, Aurora found her words again.

"Why-?"

 _"This is the only way I can heal others now. A result from "evolving"."_ he told her.

Aurora nodded and looked at him with a defeated look, earning a look of concern from him.

"He... touched me.. " she muttered.

 _"I know and he shall pay dearly for that."_ he told her with immense anger.

He picked her up and warped onto a roof, gently placing her down. He then warped to Ragna and Saphira, breaking Saphira free of her electrical prison by destroying the rods with a wave of his hand. He healed their wounds and before they had time to react to what had just happened, Ryker then warped to Murtagh and Thorn, healing them both and teleporting them next to Aurora.

All of a sudden, Ryker lifted his sword and a loud metallic ring rang throughout the city. The others looked on with surprise as they saw that it was Eragon who tried to strike Ryker from behind. Ryker then turned his head somewhat slowly, giving Eragon one of the scariest looks they've seen on him. Eragon began shaking with fear and dropped his sword. He was then launched to the ground after Ryker punched his throat. Eragon laid there, gagging and massaging his throat feverishly as Ryker descended to the ground, his large wings caused some small gusts of wind to arouse. He then waved his hand and at the next moment, the others tried with all their might to refrain from vomiting and barely succeeded. Eragon recovered and took a moment to look around him. The next second, he began screaming in shock as he backed away from the large masses of Lethrblaka heads that were placed before him.

 _"This is what happens when you endanger my family."_ Ryker told him whilst slowly walking towards the frightened human-elf hybrid.

Eragon threw out his hand in fear and conjured pillars of light to strike Ryker. However, whenever they connected, Ryker would simply shrug off the attack. Said Fenrir noted how Eragon's light pillars hurt a lot less than Aurora's attacks. By the time Ryker reached Eragon, the latter was already sweating due to the constant use of energy to cast spells. Ryker stopped and gave Eragon a calm look to which Eragon responded by trying a final last moment ditch attempt. Eragon screamed out the Word and smiled smugly, only finding with horror that Ryker could still move. Ragna, Saphira, and Aurora looked at him incredulously and they wondered how he was doing so.

 _"Ah, yes.. The Word of words... Powerful indeed. If spoken at the beginning of a magical spell, the intended result will be absolute and nothing can do anything against it. You should be proud to know it. Do you know the origin of the Word?"_ he announced, his voice laced with authority and power.

Eragon swallowed nervously and shook his head furiously, only remembering that the past tyrant, Galbatorix, used the Word against him. Ryker chuckled them gave Eragon an emotionless look.

 _"The Word was developed by someone long ago who studied the countless languages of the world. When he produced the Word, he made sure it could be spoken and used in all other languages. This man was named "Philosopher" and he was well respected by the Fenrir when they were still alive."_ Ryker finished.

Eragon widened his eyes in confusion while the others looked at Ryker in shock. Ryker then lifted Eragon into the air by the collar and brought the man's face up to his.

 _"I don't use the Word because I feel like the usage would be devastating. The fact that YOU used it, however,... "_

Ryker looked at Aurora with a determined look, the Islingr Suicune responding with a look of questioning.

 _".. It was used to harass her.. Do you know what happens when you touch the mate of The Alpha that way?"_ Ryker continued, making Eragon pale with horror as the man made the connection that Ryker was a Fenrir.

Ryker then threw Eragon down into the ground, causing the area around them to rumble a bit. Ryker then took his swords and made numerous slashes on Eragon's body though made sure none of them were fatal. He then stomped on Eragon's chest, destroying the man's ribcage. As Eragon screamed in pain, Ragna looked at Aurora with a smile.

 _You're his mate?_ he asked as Saphira smiled as well.

Aurora nodded and smiled at the memory of the day.

"I am though we only mated once, in our human forms. We're still holding off mating in our true forms though." she replied.

They then cringed as the sound of multiple bones snapping and warping filled the air. They looked to see Ryker standing over Eragon whose arms were now limp and bloodied as well as bent in strange angles. One could also see the white of some of Eragon's bones sticking out of his shoulders. It was a gruesome sight to see though it became slightly less so when Ryker decided to burn the Lethrblaka heads since they were beginning to smell.

Ryker growled at Eragon who barely refrained from soiling his pants. Ryker then turned around to meet Saphira's gaze and gave her a nod.

 _"I'm not going to kill you, it's not my place. You better hope she is in the forgiving mood today."_ Ryker told Eragon before warping next to Aurora who jumped at his sudden appearance.

Saphira flew and landed next to Eragon with a sad look. She sat on her haunches and let out a small sigh.

 _Why?_ she asked him.

Eragon sneered and coughed harshly, coughing up blood onto his clothes.

"Because I wanted power." he replied.

 _That's not what I meant... What changed you?_

Eragon remained silent for a moment, taking a few seconds to gather his thoughts.

"When Brom died, I realized that I wasn't strong enough to protect him and blamed it on you-."

 _And how was it my fault?! Your power comes from training which you DIDN'T do back then. I only supplied you with energy when you needed it but if you remember, I nearly died on that day as well._ she shouted as she cut him off.

"Well if you gave up your energy to me that day when you were dying, maybe he would still be here." Eragon retorted.

 _..._

Saphira turned and began to fly away, leaving Eragon by himself. She flew up to Ragna with a hurt expression and lowered her head.

 _Can we go home?_ she asked, her voice cracking.

Ragna nodded and took to the skies, leading her back to their cave.

"Oh, no you don't." Eragon muttered before saying the Word and sending his sword at Saphira who widened her eyes.

At that moment, Ryker appeared and twirled the sword with two fingers, growling before flinging it back at Eragon. The sword drove into Eragon's stomach and pinned him to the ground. He began to cough up more blood since some of his internal organs were destroyed. The blade of his sword suddenly shattered, telling them just how hard Ryker threw it just then. Eragon's breathing became labored and soon, his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

Eragon was no more, for certain this time.

 **A day later...**

Saphira and Ragna walked down the road, waving their hands at the people of Ellesméra as they left the palace. They began to cheer as Ryker and Aurora began to leave as well though Ryker didn't wave. The four left the city and began walking through the forest to the cave. Ragna and Saphira transformed back into their Drakengard forms and Aurora transformed into her **Natural Form.**

 _So you're not going to tell them of your true identity?_ Ragna asked, looking back at Ryker who was stroking Aurora's mane as they walked.

"They don't need to know so therefore, no, I won't. Besides, the elves already worship a wolf god, based on my species, dubbed "Faolín" or something like that. If I were to show up in my Fenrir form, it would certainly cause unrest and questioning in their religions." he replied.

Aurora looked at him with a smile and nudged him.

 _Why don't you transform too? We're well out of anyone's field of vision._ she asked.

Ryker scanned the area then nodded, stopping and transforming. The shadows around them grew and it suddenly became warm in the area. Ryker then growled as he stretched his wings though the others looked at him with confusion. He then noticed that the layers of darkness was still covering him so he dispersed it, revealing his form to them.

Ryker had changed somewhat since they last saw him. He had wings with shadows and flames as the membranes and the spiked tips had black flames circling them. In fact, every spike on his body, including his horns, had black flames rising from the bases giving him a hellish look. They then noticed that he had strange spikes that protruded from his chest and back. The two on his chest were pointing upward parallel to his neck. The two blade-like spikes on his back reached all the way back to the base of his tail, of which, is burning intensely. The spikes on his body that were there before were larger and so was his actual body. Being in **Natural Form,** he was taller than Ragna, making him a few heads taller than Aurora and Saphira..

Ryker blinked, the sclera of his eyes black and his white irises, they noticed, flared intensity as they danced wildly. His irises resembled flames and like flames, they had a strong level of intensity to them. Ryker then looked at them with a questioning look.

 _What?_ he asked, noting their looks of surprise.

 _You changed._ Saphira managed to say, feeling a bit intimidated.

 _So I've been told._ Ryker answered, looking at for sky with a wondering gaze as he continued their walk to the cave.

They looked at him as he walked further down the path, looking at each other then following him.

Later, when they reached the cave, Ragna and Saphira left to hunt for lunch. Aurora was watching Ryker inspect his back and chest spikes, making sure they were sharp and in perfect conditions.

 _What are those?_ she asked with piqued curiosity.

Ryker answered her by placing a large boulder in front of him. He then got several feet away and gestured her to look. He then ran and jumped, actually flipping in midair several times. She watched as he landed on the other side of the boulder then looked with amazement as it fell in three pieces, each piece sliced cleanly.

 _When they grew in, they ached so much like wisdom teeth._ Ryker told her before walking over to her.

Aurora nodded with a smile and looked at him questioningly.

 _Going off topic here, what did you do the day before yesterday?_ she asked.

Ryker chuckled and sat down next to her, hugging her with a wing.

 _I spoke with my parents._ he answered with a satisfied tone.

Aurora looked at him incredulously, finding that he was indeed serious as usual.

 _How were they?_ she asked, remembering the time Jeanne allowed _her_ to see her parents.

 _Honestly, I thought they were disgusted at me with the way I turned out._ he began.

He then recounted how he and his parents talked it out as well as the fight with his father. He also told her with a smile that they accept her as his mate. To this, Aurora happily nuzzled Ryker who in return, nibbled her neck.

 _Before they left, we talked for about an hour or so as my mother healed my father's wounds._ he added.

Aurora nodded and leaned her head against his neck, avoiding his chest spikes as if they weren't even there.

 _About what?_ she asked, noticing the slight change in tone of his voice which was happy.

 _Future planning and the like._ he answered, avoiding giving her a direct answer.

 _What future planning?_ she queried, giving him a narrowed gaze.

Ryker began to grow nervous and chuckled forcibly, looking for a way out.

 _You know, future planning._ he replied, backing away from her a bit.

 _Like?_ she asked, taking a step after him, The Alpha suddenly becoming The Prey.

Ryker tried to look for a means to escape then sighed with relief as Ragna and Saphira returned.

 _Ah! Saphira! Aurora was wondering how to fly backwards!_ Ryker announced.

Saphira looked at Aurora excitedly who gave Ryker a glare before being whisked away by the blue dragoness. Ragna walked over to Ryker and sat down next to him, giving the Fenrir a curious look.

 _What was that all about?_ he asked.

 _Nothing but me dodging a bullet._ Ryker answered.

 _And why would she have to leave with my mate who, apparently, is an expert at flying backwards_?

 _Because she nearly forced me to confess about my future plans for her._

At this Ryker gave the information to Ragna privately. Ragna then looked at Ryker incredulously as if he was crazy.

 _I only need your help clearing out the rock inside and the rest I could do myself._ Ryker told him with a reassuring tone.

 _Is Lady Arceus fine with you hollowing out the center of Mt. Moon?_ Ragna asked.

Ryker nodded and looked at the sun which was beginning its slow descent.

 _The pokémon within in that area will be provided with new homes to their comfort thanks to Lady Arceus and I'll have that whole section to myself._

Ragna shook his head with a chuckle and playfully nudged Ryker with a wing.

 _The lengths you go for her._ Ragna added.

 _I can say the same for you to Saphira._ Ryker replied.

Ragna nodded and looked at his paws, finding burn marks that have yet to heal from the day before. His claws were somewhat dull too, making him note to sharpen them later.

 _Of course. That's what we males have to do for our families._ Ragna responded as he yawned.

Ryker nodded and thought about Balto and the rest of their family.

 _Enjoyed your lunch earlier?_

Ragna nodded and began sharpening his claws on the cave floor.

 _We caught wild boar and for some reason, I nearly crashed into a tree catching it._ the Drakengard replied with a chuckle.

As Ragna informed Ryker on the event, Ryker's ears twitched and he smiled as he heard Aurora questioning Saphira on how to do a backwards aerial maneuver.

 _-nearly landed on my beautiful face._ Ragna finished as Ryker rolled his eyes.

Ragna then remembered when Aurora transformed and fought off Eragon with Hush and how she also used her bow as two daggers. He told Ryker of the event and asked the Fenrir of his thoughts on the subject.

 _I was quite surprised as well when I appeared and saw her in that form. She later told me that she trained herself the whole year I was gone._

Ryker then remembered how Eragon sexually harassed Aurora and grew angry, his family brand flames flaring in intensity as well as his tail. He then heard Saphira and Aurora return. His flames immediately subsided and his anger was instantly hidden.

 _How was it?_ Ragna asked, earning a glare that Aurora shot to Ryker who averted his gaze innocently.

 _She handled it well._ Saphira replied proudly as she stretched her wings.

Ryker then got up and stretched as well.

 _I'll be back later._ he announced before running off into the forest.

Aurora narrowed her eyes and immediately pursued him, leaving Ragna and Saphira to themselves.

 _Well, that's that._ Ragna announced as he lazily laid down, intending to go to sleep.

 _Oh, you're super dirty. I guess you haven't bathed._ Saphira told him playfully.

 _What are you talking about? I just cleaned myself and I don't see a single dirty sp-._

Ragna stopped as he felt Saphira's tongue trail along his scales.

 _Nevermind._ he muttered.

 _Thought so._ Saphira replied with a giggle.

She turned him over onto his back and began to lick at his underbelly, making thorough cleansing and such. She then noticed how his breathing became somewhat irregular as she trailed her tongue lower to his crotch. Saphira then noticed a membrane bulge and saw his member begin to poke out. Dragon reproductive organs were internal so, if one were to walk underneath a dragon, they would have to arouse it sexually to be able to see the male or female sex. She gave it a small lick, making her mate go rigid. He then surprised her by getting up and flipped her onto her back and growling. For a moment, she whimpered but it turned into a moan as he trailed his tongue across her lower lips which were becoming more and more moist. He then drove his tongue into her, making Saphira arch her back against the cave wall.

 _Oh! Ragna! That feels really~_ she trailed off as he began circling her love button.

He made sure he covered every inch of her inner cavern, licking in random directions yet making sure each part of her was getting attention. As he continued to service her, he became more aroused and his erection became full mast. Saphira noticed this and gestured for him to fix his position. Now, he was standing over her with his dragonhood hanging over her face. He was still pleasuring her yet he nearly stopped when she began to suckle on it, earning a groan from him. Ragna then began to double his efforts and thrusted his tongue in and out of her cavern. He earned gasps of pleasure from his mate and smiled inwardly, though the smile became a mixed expression as she engulfed his member entirely. She bobbed her head up and down while at the same time sucking on it as well as coiling her tongue around the tip.

 _Saphira... I'm getting close!_ he told her as he began to thrust his hips.

Saphira moaned and she began to hump Ragna's face, his muzzle now buried within her and she shivered at the warmth of his breaths that escaped through his nostrils. Ragna's senses were clouded with her scent and pheromones, making him lightheaded and such. It then grew in intensity and thickness as she climaxed, sending a spray of her juices into his mouth. He made sure that he caught every drop, swishing his tongue to and fro as well as making her orgasm last longer. When she finished, Saphira tripled her efforts on making Ragna hit his climax as well. As a result, he groaned and he unloaded his essence into her mouth. As she drank the creamy substance, she continued to milk him for it, getting a few more drops into her mouth. When she was certain he couldn't produce any more, she sighed and positioned herself against him happily, laying her head on his forelegs.

 _I love you._ Ragna told her as he used his fire to clean up their mess as well as deodorize the cave.

 _And I love you too._ Saphira replied as they both began to fall asleep.

 **With Ryker and Aurora**

Ryker sighed as he drank some water from a clear pond. As he drank, he spotted Aurora's reflection and smiled, turning around and surprising her by kissing her.

 _Do you need something?_ he asked with a chuckle.

Aurora shook her head and sat on her haunches, licking her paw and cleaning it.

 _No, I just wanted to be around you._ she replied.

Ryker nodded and noticed Aurora's questioning look.

 _Is there something wrong?_ he asked.

Aurora got up and drank from the pool of water as well.

 _I noticed that you said you met your parents... Did you see your brother too?_ she asked as she withdrew from the pool.

Ryker shook his head and looked at the sunset. Aurora wondered if he was zoning out again but dismissed it as he looked back at her.

 _No, my parents said that I should wait a little while longer._ he said with a sad smile though with a hopeful expression.

Aurora wanted to comfort him but didn't know what to say. Instead, she wanted to ask him a question.

 _Say, how old would he be right now?_ she asked.

Ryker knew what she was trying to do and decided to just go along with it.

 _He would be 24 right now. His birthday was a couple months back, in February._

Ryker smiled, chuckling and shaking his head earning a confused look from Aurora.

 _He was born on Valentine's Day. I wonder if he'd be a ladiesman right now._ he added with another laugh.

Aurora smiled as well and couldn't help but to laugh too. She then suddenly thought of something that she thought needed to be addressed.

 _How long do we plan on staying here?_ she asked.

Ryker shrugged his shoulders and laid down. He looked up at a certain spot somewhere in the sky.

 _We can stay here as long as we want. Until Jeanne calls us for a quest anyways._ he replied.

Aurora nodded and laid down next to him, glad that he had such a great body warmth. She thought about all the things, good and bad, that they went through together. She then wondered how was Ryker's school life was. Ryker caught this stray thought and chuckled.

 _Before I became I Knight, I attended a large school meant for Legendaries in training. I aced every class and I think it was the teacher who said that he thought I was a Uxie. I actually saw you there though I never spoke to you. I never spoke to anyone there, in fact._ he informed her.

Aurora looked at him as if he spoke gibberish.

 _You mean you were at Union of Legends too?_

Ryker nodded and looked at his fore legs, his family brands glowing darkly with his flames.

 _Everyday I went, I always ended up finishing my assignments early and such. So early, in fact, that I always had time for missions for Jeanne. When I graduated and joined the military, I went through military standard training and was stopped early because they thought that my hand-to-hand combat was too advanced to need training. I got through weapon training and the like and they allowed me to do whatever I like until they call me in. Then, I met you and etcetera etcetera. I'm just as curious as you as to how all of that fit into my life._

 _When you left us at Hollow Bastion, you went back to the military, right? Aurora asked._

Ryker nodded and laid his head onto his fore legs.

 _I did while at the same time, kept watch on the seal at the Ruins of Alph using Dark Astral Projection which is like sending a clone of me to another place though you can't feel it if you were to touch it But, you can feel it if it were to attack you. I must say, I moved around a lot._ he said with a small laugh.

Aurora rolled her eyes and noticed that the sun had finished setting. She nudged Ryker and got up, leading him back to the cave. On the way there, Ryker caught a large boar for them to share and carried it to the cave.

When they reached the cave, Ryker picked up the very faintest of scents from Ragna and Saphira. He didn't say anything but wondered if Aurora could smell it as well. However, she looked like she didn't and he simply followed her back to the cave.

 _Damn hypersensitive senses._ he muttered to himself.

 _What was that?_ Aurora queried as they began to eat.

 _Nothing, don't worry about it._ was his reply.

Aurora narrowed her eyes at him but decided to let it go and resumed eating. At the same time, she recalled the earlier events of the day. In the morning, they went to the palace on invitation of Dathedr and participated in a celebratory breakfast feast. Afterwards, they were introducing each other to the many nobles and commoners alike. They even met the King of the Werecats who just arrived that morning. Later, they helped repair the damaged buildings of the city as well as check for any leftover Ra'zac or Lightstalkers. When they found none, they declared it safe for the people to get back in their newly repaired homes. At one point, Harmonia questioned if the group had sensed a powerful dark energy the day before around the time Eragon appeared. Ragna had said that it was a dark spirit Eragon had summoned but it ended up being defeated shortly afterwards.

Aurora yawned, fatigue already getting to her. She then became alert as she picked up a scent.

 _She's here._ Aurora hissed with distaste.

 _I know, dear. Please calm down for me for a quick minute, alright?_ Ryker replied as he transformed back into his human form.

Aurora growled but nodded, calming down like he had asked her to. Ryker then smiled and thanked her before walking out to the mouth of the cave. When he did, he spotted Leafa getting off of her horse several yards away. She noticed his presence and smiled, walking up to him with a poorly hidden sultry walk.

"I hope you don't mind me visiting, Lord Fang. It's just that it was too crowded earlier at the palace and I didn't get the chance to talk to you privately." she told him.

Ryker arched an eyebrow, cooking his head to the side as well.

"Private?" he asked, noticing her lusty glare.

"Indeed. Though, it might not be that great to your ears." she warned.

At this, Ryker crossed his arms and nodded.

"Go ahead." he told her.

Leafa inwardly smiled and took a deep breath. She them exhaled and gave Ryker a false apologetic look.

"I saw Lady North contacting Eragon's spirit earlier. I fear that she may have been working with him the entire time and is currently trying to resurrect him somehow." Leafa "sobbed."

Aurora heard this and couldn't help but to laugh in the cave. She was angry, yes, but that was an outrageous accusation. Was the elven princess that desperate?

Ryker calmly nodded much to Leafa's delight.

"We should capture her and hold her for interrogation." she suggested.

Ryker nodded and muttered to himself as if he actually bought the story. He then gestured for Leafa to come closer and she did so. She leaned her ear to him and he cupped his hand over the side of his mouth.

"Yes and when you get reprimanded for making a ridiculous accusation, I will make sure you will never bother us again." he whispered to her.

She gave him a surprised look then noticed Aurora glaring at her at the mouth of the cave. Ryker, knowing that there was going to be a heated argument, placed a soundproof barrier around Ragna and Saphira so they could sleep peacefully.

"Oh, how come?! Why won't you take me instead?" Leafa whined, stomping a foot.

Ryker stepped to the side as Aurora landed next to him. She growled at Leafa and took a threatening step closer.

"Because I love her and I don't and never will feel that same love towards any other." Ryker simply stated, shocking the both of them.

 _Ryker, she's going to spread the news that you're with me and they think you're human!_ Aurora told him privately but he reassured her with a slight shake of his head.

However, at the same time, Aurora felt happiness from his last statement. She was shocked how he just openly stated his love for her in front of another like that.

"But it won't work out! You're human! I know that you're not this dumb of a man, Lord Alpha!" Leafa retorted, just asking for Aurora to kill her.

Ryker held Aurora back though the two females felt his anger grow as well.

"You don't know anything about me, child! I will not ask you again! Leave us alone and you shall not speak of this conversation to anyone else!" he roared, scaring the both of them.

Leafa swallowed nervously but grew bold, taking off her garment in front of them revealing her naked chest.

"Are you sure, milord? I can pleasure you in ways you cannot imagine." she offered.

At this, Aurora grew furious and looked at Ryker who was pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Slattern... Fine. I will not be held responsible for what happens next. I gave you multiple warnings and yet, you persist." he muttered before walking back and sitting down at the mouth of the cave.

Aurora turned back around and glared at Leafa who put her shirt back on.

 _Leave._ Aurora told the teen, her voice laced with venom.

Leafa then did something unbelievable, something of which nearly drove Ryker to burn her on the spot. The noise reverberated and echoed throughout the forest.

She slapped Aurora.

Aurora looked at Ryker who in return, nodded with anger. She then turned around and transformed into her human form, donning her armor and drawing Hush. Leafa smirked and jumped back, drawing a bow of her own. It was gold in color and had elven runes running across its frame. It read _"Sky Piercer"_ and the bowstring was gold as well. However, when she drew one of her arrows, it was silver unlike the bow.

Aurora fired first, sending an arrow straight at Leafa's face. Leafa ducked and rolled to the side, releasing an arrow aimed at Aurora's arm. Aurora simply twirled her bow, sending the arrow away, and unleashed a volley of arrows onto Leafa. Leafa stared with shock at the dozens of arrows and shook her head to snap herself out of her trance. She then threw put her hands and muttered a spell, producing a large spherical barrier. The barrier dispelled Aurora's arrows and Leafa smugly laughed. However, she didn't see Aurora change her style of fighting. She gasped in surprise and held her arm in pain as Aurora slashed it with one of her bow blades. Leafa's barrier disappeared due to her interruption of concentration and the elven princess backtracked several feet away.

"Curse you!" Leafa spat as she fired three barbed arrows at Aurora.

Aurora jumped and flipped in midair over the arrows. She landed with Grace and took cover behind a rock as Leafa shot out more. Aurora flinched as an arrow ricocheted off the boulder and into the ground next to her hand. She then fired blindly over the boulder, sending multiple arrows at Leafa. Leafa didn't have to move to dodge some but when she had to, she barely succeeded unscathed. Leafa smiled, thinking Aurora was now on the defensive. She looked at Ryker who calmly looked at the battle. He then noticed her staring and growled at her, making her cower a bit. Leafa then screamed in pain as she was sent into a tree and looked to see Aurora recovering from her tackling stance.

Ryker continued to watch their quarrel, confident that Aurora would win. His eyes scanned their prowess, making mental notes about their tactics and the like.

 _Aurora's clever, she's calm and level headed. She chose not to expend her energy in powerful attacks and though it looked like she was on the defensive, she really wasn't. Her reactions are quick and I can tell it's not instinctual. She leaves her lower body open though when it comes to close combat._

He looked at Leafa who slashed at Aurora with a hidden dagger. Ryker nearly got up to interfere when Aurora clutched her leg in pain. He then shook his head, having complete faith in Aurora.

 _Leafa, however, is too cocky. She likes to overwhelm with numbers and power yet her accuracy is on the dot. She reacts well though could improve on her speed. Her decision making though is almost as fast as Aurora's. She leaves her sides open and doesn't think twice before performing a reckless move._

Ryker then noticed Ragna stir in his sleep. The Drakengard yawned as he woke up and blinked several times to focus his vision.

 _I sense a lot of energy._ he groggily stated.

Ryker pointed to the battle before them and Ragna stared for a moment.

 _Leafa's screwed._ Ragna simply responded before getting comfortable as if he was watching a show.

He then looked at Ryker with an amused look and nudged the Fenrir playfully.

 _100 bucks says that the battle will be over in five minutes._ Ragna challenged.

Ryker narrowed his eyes, taking in the conditions of the two as well as his knowledge of their combat endurance and skills.

"Ten minutes." Ryker replied and the two looked at Aurora and Leafa with curious looks.

Aurora kicked at Leafa who was currently on top of her after a tumble. Leafa hissed in pain but continued to try and pin Aurora to the ground. Aurora, however, clenched her teeth and kneed Leafa in the stomach. The latter doubled over and held her stomach in pain. Aurora then kicked up to an upright position and held up her fists, determined and planning to fight the rest of the battle hand-to-hand. Leafa recovered from the last attack and glared at Aurora, spitting at the grass before holding up her fists as well. Aurora's stance had her arms at chest level with one fist out and the other closer to her body. Her knees were bent and she had one foot behind the other so that when she punched, it would be swift and carry all of her weight into the power. Aurora learned this stance from watching Lucario during one of her quests in the past.

Ryker nodded in approval, surprised that she learned such a stance. The Lucario who use this stance were powerful and were masters of combat so he wondered what Aurora had in store for them.

 _She covered all of her vulnerable areas. Her stance is flawless too._ he noted.

Leafa's stance consisted of her holding her hands close to her face much like a boxer. However, they were open-palmed and her fingers were stiff. Her arms were one on front of the other and we're at upper-chest level. Her legs were spread apart and only had one knee bent which gave her a kung-fu like stance.

 _Her style would be meant for powerful attacks whereas Aurora's meant for quick and precise as well as being powerful too. She's leaving her lower body vulnerable though any attacks to her upper body may be rendered useless due to her arm placement._ Ryker thought to himself.

Leafa was the one to strike first, jabbing at Aurora's stomach. Aurora pivoted and smoothly directed Leafa's hand away while at the same time, spinning. Aurora used the momentum and landed a startling blow to her opponent's side. Leafa grunted in pain and chopped at Aurora's shoulder, succeeding and earning a gasp of pain from Aurora. She then tried jabbing at Aurora again but failed as Aurora ducked and sweeped Leafa's feet out from under her. As Leafa fell forward, Aurora punched Leafa in the chest then grabbed the elven princess's hair ending the attack with a knee to the face. Leafa reared her head back in pain and grabbed her nose as it started to bleed.

 _Thank you, Ryker._ Aurora thought to herself, proud of herself that she replicated a move Ryker used on an enemy before.

Leafa then surprised Aurora by flipping backwards, kicking Aurora's chin and causing the Islingr Suicune's head to snap back. When Leafa landed, she threw a punch at Aurora. Aurora recovered and directed the punch away, following it up by a punch to Leafa's gut then turning and kicking Leafa on the side of the head. Leafa saw stars, shaking her head to clear her vision. The simple act, however, made it worse for her and only made her even more dizzy. Aurora took this chance and pivoted around Leafa then swiftly struck twice to the back of her knees. Leafa fell to the ground, grunting when she did. Aurora stood over her, triumphant and wondered if Leafa would be able to go on.

"That's enough." Ryker announced to them as he got up and walked down to their positions.

He walked up to Aurora and smiled, healing her whilst hugging her to him as well. He then got on one knee and began healing Leafa who was panting with extreme exhaustion.

"Why?" she rasped as she struggled to get up.

Ryker said nothing and stood back, a few cuts had formed on his arm. Aurora frowned at this and rubbed his arm soothingly, hating the fact that he had to use such a morbid method of healing. Leafa looked at Ryker furiously and nearly spat as she talked.

"Why do you choose her over me?" she asked, her question clearer.

Ryker sighed and pointed to his fangs, surprising and intimidating Leafa. He then shook his head at Leafa.

"I do not feel love for you. The only one I am capable of doing so is Aurora and will always be her. That's not all, look at me. You talk like you know me but you really don't. Do you think a human can do all the things I did? Do you think a human has fangs or sprouts wings in the middle of a desert?" he explained.

Leafa opened her mouth but found that she had nothing to say after she registered what he had just told her. Ryker continued though had an emotionless tone to his voice.

"I'm no human, milady, I am a being that is feared by many. You wouldn't want to be near me if you knew what I really am." he finished, turning around and leading Aurora back to the cave.

Ryker then suddenly turned around and looked at her, giving Aurora a quick glance.

"Though there are some individuals, pure at heart at that, who accept me. I find that I'm slowly changing myself for them."

Leafa stood there, confused and conflicted. She balled up her fists and looked at the retreating two with jealousy. She then saw Ryker look at her with an imposing stare, his eyes seemed to stare straight into her soul.

 _Our conversation as well as the battle WILL NOT be spoken of nor will it be repeated, understand?_ he asked, his mental voice as powerful as his vocal one.

He then waved his hand and Leafa found herself back in the palace. She looked at the floor and found traces of moving shadows dissipating confirming that Ryker had teleported her there. She then balled up her fists and stomped all the way to her room, opening the slamming the door shut in fury. Passerby servants looked at her door in confusion before they resumed their duties.

Back at the cave, Ragna stretched and looked at Ryker with a defeated smile.

 _Looks like I lost._ he stated with a chuckle.

Ryker waved it off and noticed Aurora's look of confusion.

 _Don't worry about it. That was longer than ten minutes anyways._ he told Ragna privately.

He then went to the back of the cave where it was darkest. He transformed into his **Natural Form** and laid down, completely hidden by the shadows. Aurora followed and laid next to him, nudging his side.

 _I forgot to ask you earlier. How come no one noticed you at the Union of Legends? Humans aren't allowed there so how did you get by?_ she asked.

Ryker gave her a contemplative look before laying his head back down.

 _I hid my presence and stuck to the shadows, literally. Only the professors knew I was there though they were told by Lady Arceus that I was a Darkrai and that my being there was to be kept a secret._ he informed her.

Aurora rolled her eyes as he chuckled and rested her head on his fore legs. Ryker yawned and draped a wing over her, laying his head over her neck in a comfortable position for the both of them. Eventually, they fell asleep, tired from the day's events.

Ragna looked at them then he looked at his sleeping mate. He smiled and decided to go back to sleep. He laid his head down and yawned once more, smiling as he fell asleep.

 **Hall of Origins**

Jeanne happily floated down one of the many hallways of the Hall of Origins, humming to herself all the way. She was still content with herself from the other day when she reunited Ryker with his parents. However, she had another business to attend to for now. She turned a corner and reached a large red door, opening it then stepping inside. The interior was black with streaks of red, small jets of red flames here and there. She smiled as she saw the one she was looking for sleeping soundly on the bed.

The figure had blood-red fur, black tribal lines zigzagged all around its body ending in sharp points. The lines were symmetrical, covering its body from only the stomach up to its face. The finger had six lines, three on each side, on its face pointing towards its muzzle. It had two horns on its head between its ears and spoke tips on its wings. The figure had a red flame tip on its tail and red flames followed its tribal lines. Finally, the figure had black claws and teeth, its underbelly fur being black as well.

The figure was a Fenrir.

 _Wake up, Lord Fang._ Jeanne told him with an amused tone.

The Fenrir simply turned around on its bed and continued to snore in his sleep. He laid on his back and stuck his tongue out of his mouth to the side. Jeanne rolled her eyes and poked at the Fenrir's stomach with her hoof.

 _Wake up, Lord Fang. You said that you would help me clean my chambers today._ she reiterated, a small whining tone in her voice.

The Fenrir continued to snore, ignoring her attempts to wake him up. Somewhat annoyed, Jeanne stomped on his stomach with her hoof whilst smacking his head with the other.

 _WAKE UP!_ she exclaimed, jolting the Fenrir awake who groaned as he doubled over.

 _Ooowwwww... What was that for, Jeanne?_ he asked as he recovered and yawned.

Jeanne smirked, not minding his informality one bit. She then gestured towards the direction of her room.

 _It's not my fault that you wouldn't wake up, Vulcan._ she retorted, being completely used to having informal conversations with the playful Fenrir.

Vulcan nodded and opened his eyes, revealing crimson red irises that waved like flames. One could even say that he inherited his mother's eyes. Vulcan then yawned and smacked his lips, moistening them by licking them over.

 _Cleaning your room, right?_ he asked as he followed her out.

She nodded and led him down a hidden hallway behind a large statue. The hallway they were just in was hidden too with a matching statue. This way, they could keep Vulcan's existence in secret. She led him to her chambers, encountering no Legendaries as usual, and went inside with him. Inside, there were clusters of relics and furniture and such. Vulcan shook his head in amusement and began organizing her relics as she began picking up and folding blankets and the like.

 _You're lucky I have nothing to do._ he joked as he put a relic in a pile with others.

Jeanne smiled, knowing that he was only joking. She raised Vulcan with Darko for many years, she enjoyed his company when her mate was busy and she loved having conversations with him. He was like a son to her though they treated each other like best friends. His personality was care-free, his mindset open and interesting, and his intellect is actually high up there. Most of the time though, they joked around with each other and when they could, train along with Darko as well.

 _You know you would've helped anyway._ she replied to his comment.

Vulcan chuckled, his voice light and not deep at all. His words had an accent to them and he was almost never angry.

 _Got me there._ he replied, eyeing a strange relic that seemed to glow with a purple hue.

 _That will make you have hallucinations for hours on end if you stare at it too long._ Jeanne warned him, making him yelp and nearly drop the relic.

He set it down carefully whilst looking away and gave her an incredulous look. She simply nodded with amusement and continued to arrange her room. Vulcan shook his head with a nervous look and returned to sorting out her relics.

 _Where do you get all of these?_ he asked, awed by a crystal relic that seemed to change colors.

Jeanne huffed as she threw a pillow onto her bed.

 _Your brother collects them on missions and when he does, he usually keeps them in his chamber for safekeeping. These relics, however, are actually mine and were either misplaced or stolen._ she replied.

Vulcan stopped sorting the relics and gave her a sad look.

 _When will I able to see my older brother, Jeanne?_ he asked, making Jeanne nearly sadden as well upon seeing his expression.

However, Jeanne smiled and nudged him playfully earning a look of confusion from the Fenrir.

 _Soon, actually. Your parents told me to reunite you two when your older brother is ready._

Vulcan nodded and looked hopefully at the setting sun outside.

 _I really miss him, aunt Jeanne._ he added with a whine.

Jeanne smiled a little, remembering that the last time he called her that was many years back when he was still a little pup. She floated over to him and nudged him reassuringly.

 _He misses you too, Vulcan. Don't worry, you'll see him tomorrow._ she told him soothingly with a happy tone.

At this, Vulcan's eyes brightened and he looked at her incredulously, his tail waving to and fro.

 _Really? That soon?!_ he asked excitedly.

Jeanne chuckled and returned to cleaning up her room, giving Vulcan a nod.

 _Of course. Why wait any longer? Plus, you'll be able to meet your newest sister as well._ she added.

Vulcan nodded with happiness then gaped his mouth open to her last statement.

 _Sister?_ he asked earning a realizing look from Jeanne.

 _Oh right, your brother has a mate._ she explained with a smile.

Vulcan nearly jumped in excitement for this, turning back and gathering up relics as fast as he could.

 _I can't wait! I can't wait! I can't wait!_ he repeated over and over again.

Jeanne looked up as her mate entered the room. Darko looked around as smiled with amusement when he saw what the two were doing.

 _Ah, I see you're finally getting down to it, Jeanne. Thank you for helping, Vulcan._ he announced, earning a feverish nodding of the head from Vulcan who seemed to be doing everything in a blur.

Darko floated over to Jeanne and nuzzled her, earning a kiss from her.

 _Why is he like this?_ Darko asked with a chuckle as he helped Jeanne fold their blankets.

 _Who wouldn't be excited to see their brother after 20 and some years?_ Jeanne replied, earning a shocked look from Darko.

 _You mean, you're going to reunite them? When?_ he asked.

 _Tomorrow morning when Lord Fang and Lady Islingr Suicune return here. I really wonder how things would go from there._ Jeanne responded as they finished up cleaning the room.

Darko looked at Vulcan who was putting away one of the last relics onto a large stand in their room. He then chuckled and shook his head.

 _Whatever it is, it would be interesting indeed._ he told her.

Vulcan happily walked up to them and nudged Jeanne with his nose.

 _Say, is there anything else you need help with? Or you, Darko?_ he asked.

Jeanne shook her head whilst thanking him but Darko actually nodded.

 _I need help with some statue placement, actually. Would you mind helping me move them into place?_ he asked.

Vulcan shook his head with a smile and followed Darko out the door, taking the hidden hallways.

 _... hide in the shadows while I polish them then you'll move them into place._ Darko muttered to Vulcan before they left mental earshot.

Jeanne shook her head and headed to the scrying chamber. Once there, she conjured up a scrying orb and looked within, finding Ryker and Aurora asleep in the cave in Alagaësia. She smiled and checked on Ragna and Saphira as well, finding them both as healthy and well as the other two. She then dismissed the orb and turned around to look at many statues placed along the walls at different levels. The most recent ones were placed more towards the floor. She looked at the very last one, nodding satisfyingly at the statue of Ryker in his Fenrir form in the position he was the day he became a Legendary. Before him was Vulcan who became a Legendary shortly before. Jeanne smiled and began to inspect each of the statues on the room, making sure they were polished and that they were placed evenly distanced away from each other.

 _Ah, the new generations will indeed have fateful effects to the world._ she thought to herself before walking out of the room.


	19. Chapter 3 (DR)

_**"The Alpha will call, The Beta will join,**_

 _ **Together as brothers, they are inseparable,**_

 _ **All now hunted, because of one fateful calling,**_

 _ **Haunting, yet beautiful, they'll ravage,**_

 _ **They'll break, they'll snap and growl,**_

 _ **Stopping for yet no one,**_

 _ **No one for the sake of the pack."**_

 **Chapter Three: The Beta**

Ryker woke up and yawned, looking outside to see that it was dawn. He carefully got up, avoiding waking up Aurora as he stepped around her. He meticulously maneuvered around the sleeping Drakengards as well, leaving the cave at a dead sprint into the forest ahead. As he ran, the scenery blurred passed him with different colors ranging from brown to yellow to green and so on. He would turn his head at the direction at any sudden movements as well, making notes of some possible prey and hunting spots. He ran along a route of a ten mile radius around the cave, maneuvering around obstacles like fallen trees limbs and the like. He ran ten or so laps before taking flight and doing the same. He flew at amazing speed though his running was a bit faster which was strange if one were to think about it. Ryker preferred running though, it worked out more of his body than flying did. Ryker flew around in a large circle for several laps, stopping when he felt major strain on his wings. He landed on a nearby hill and transformed into his human form, taking off his shirt before he began training.

He did sets of one-handed push-ups, doing a few hundred per arm, sets of tree limb crunches, and some sword training as well as some close combat training using trees as punching bags. After an hour and a half, a blur flew overhead and spotted him in the middle of punching as well as unintentionally splintering a tree. Ryker looked behind him where, several feet away, a beautiful being landed.

 _I still don't find it necessary for you to be training for two hours every day at dawn, noon, and night._ Aurora remarked as she walked to him.

Ryker smiled and kissed her when she got close enough, earning a warm smile from her.

"If I didn't, I wouldn't have the power and strength to protect you and the others." he retorted with a chuckle.

Aurora rolled her eyes and yawned, it was still very early in the morning around six-thirty or so. She then watched him as he put his shirt back on, little beads of sweat formed on his head.

 _Mind of I join you then? If you are still training, that is._ she asked, earning a shake of the head and a smile from Ryker.

Aurora transformed into her human form and got in an offensive position. Ryker leapt several feet back and steeled himself, prepared for any tricks she may throw at him. Aurora suddenly charged at him, closing their distance between each other then warping behind him at the last moment. She threw a punch at his back but Ryker grabbed her arm and threw her over him. She righted herself in midair and landed gracefully, as if she still had her wings to steady herself. She then fired a couple of icicles at him from her hands, each of them frothing with a freezing must. Ryker dodged one of them and melted the other two as he caught them with his hands. Aurora smirked when he did this and Ryker immediately looked down with a sudden realization. There was a wet spot on his foot and it froze and formed into an ice spear, soaring for his chest. Ryker punched and broke it before it made contact and looked at Aurora with a smirk. However, Aurora smirked as well and summoned Hush as dual daggers.

Aurora charged at him, blunting her weapons magically before slashing at him. Ryker summoned his sword and blocked the attack, making sure his sword was blunted as well. As the weapons clashed against each other, their rival elements caused multiple crackles of energy and emitted a powerful pressure. Ryker applied a little force and shoved Aurora, making her skid a couple of feet back. Aurora narrowed her eyes at him and threw her daggers at him at immeasurable speeds. Ryker raised his eyebrows in surprise as the daggers expanded themselves in size. Ryker jumped, turning in midair and avoiding the first one by a mere two or so inches. He barely avoided the other, though the dagger caught his arm and as he landed, he winced as a bruise began to form.

Ryker looked at Aurora and smiled, appearing behind her faster than the blink of an eye. He sent a fireball to her back which made her hiss and arch her back in pain in response. Aurora quickly turned around to blast him with a torrent of freezing water to which he pivoted to avoid. However, Aurora planned this and summoned her daggers then slashed at him when he wasn't looking. Ryker amazingly blocked the attack and gave her a look of approval, surprising her when he kissed her forehead. Aurora gave him a questioning look and he took that opportunity to stick his leg behind her and pushed her in the opposite direction, making her fall onto her rump. Aurora looked up and glared at him for using such a method. Ryker simply chuckled and took a few steps back to allow her to recover. Aurora got up and fused her daggers together, forming her bow and fired a few stun arrows at Ryker. Ryker deflected some with his sword and merely shook off the pain as the stun arrows sank into his arm. He then smirked as Aurora who was suddenly thrown into the air by her own shadow.

Ryker appeared in front of her and binded her hands together, preventing her from performing any aerial recovery maneuvers. As they plummeted towards the ground, Aurora struggled to break free of his grasp. However, she found that his grip on her was too great and began to kick back blindly. Fortunately, she landed a hard kick to his knee and he grunted in response. Ryker let go of her and clutched his knee in pain as Aurora righted herself. She then kicked him in the stomach, sending him crashing into the ground. She saw his body, tumble some ways around several yards, flipping and crashing through trees. She winced, wondering if she accidentally went too far. She called out his name, receiving no response but instead the sound of wind breezing by. She became worry from the lack of response so she tried calling out to him mentally. Again, she didn't receive a response and immediately, her heart rate picked up in panic. She took a step, poised to sprint to where Ryker landed harshly.

At that moment, she felt a daunting presence and turned around, seeing an intimidating and majorly terrifying stare from The Alpha.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" she exclaimed before tripping and falling onto her rump once again.

At this, Ryker laughed heartily and held his side as if it was going to split apart, apparently very amused. Aurora glared at him but began laughing as well, taking his offered hand and getting up.

"That was great, by the way. I didn't have a workout like that for a while save for my encounter with the Lethrblaka." he remarked, earning a proud smile from his lover.

"Thanks though I thought that the bit at the end just now was a little unfair." she replied with a playful pout.

Ryker chuckled and dusted himself off, tending to her bruises and scratches as she tended to his. When they were finished, he gestured to the pond and offered his hand to her, earning a nod from Aurora as she took his hand and walked to the pond with him. As they neared it, Ryker scanned the surrounding area, sniffing the air and sensing for mental signatures. After he gave the ok, they began to undress themselves. As Aurora stepped in when she finished, any bacteria or such, if any, in the pond were gone since she purified the pond the moment she made contact with it. Ryker stepped in after her, producing his odorless shampoo, conditioner, and bodywash. He offered them to her and she took it with amusement, noticing that he had gotten over his shyness of them being nude around each other.

"Why odorless, again?" she asked, referring to the bathing products.

She applied them to her head and body before handing it to Ryker who did the same.

"I don't want my natural scent to change and I think the other products smell pretty unnatural or just simply nose-wrinkling." he replied, earning a laugh from Aurora.

As she cleaned herself, she watched Ryker rinse off in the water, turning around and blushing with embarrassment when he noticed her doing do. Ryker chuckled at this and embraced her from behind, nibbling her ear lightly. Aurora squealed out in surprise and giggled before pushing him away, finishing up on her bathing. Ryker smiled and returned to scrubbing off the soap and such. All the chemicals from the cleansing products that made contact with the water instantly disappeared without a trace, the water remaining pure since Aurora was still standing in it. Ryker looked at the pond floor, the water being crystal clear thanks to Aurora. He then smiled and tensed his hand, ready for action.

Aurora jumped as she heard a splashing noise behind her. She turned around to see Ryker holding a large salmon the size of an average skateboard in his hands. Ryker smiled and presented it to her, the salmon weakly resisting in his hand.

"Breakfast." he announced earning a small chuckle from Aurora.

After a few more fish were caught, and when Ryker decided to settle for seafood, they got dressed in clean clothes and began eating their breakfast. They considered catching some food for Ragna and Saphira but Ryker stated that he checked their heart rates and concluded that they were going to wake up in a few hours anyway. He then looked at the sky and figured it was around early eight o'clock. He checked his watch and found that he was right, it being eight fifteen. After they ate, they relaxed on the hill where Ryker trained, looking at the sparkling pond. They were having a conversation, and interesting one at that, about the Union of Legends.

"Oh, I remember Professor Styx! He was a Keldeo, right?" Aurora asked.

"I believe so. Though, he favored the Water-Types in his classes, paying more attention to them and such." Ryker replied.

Aurora nodded, agreeing with him as she remembered fully well the Keldeo professor back at the school of Legendaries in training. She then looked at Ryker with a questioning expression.

"You said you stuck to the shadows during school?"

Ryker nodded, fiddling with a blade of grass then began picking it apart.

"Around five minutes before class started, I'd turn in my assignments then hide in the back of the room where it was intentionally kept dark. You see, I was already an expert at hiding my presence and such though the teachers knew I was there but they thought I was a Darkrai as Jeanne told them. Whenever class ended, I'd turn in any classwork or tests and the like if we had any that day though I would be covered in a cloak of shadows to prevent them from seeing me. Though, if they did, they would see me in my human disguise. Even though I had my looks, I still didn't want them to find out about my true identity."

Aurora nodded and noticed that he had separated the blade of grass into two and tied it into a spiraling strand. He stretched it, making a strand when spun around, the edges would spiral upwards like that of a drill. He then flicked it into the air, making it spin as it got carried away by the wind.

"Whenever it was breakfast or lunch time, I left the school to hunt for my own food. Though, I had to make sure no one spotted me in the process so Darko prohibited everyone from leaving school premises at the time." he added, watching the grass strand float away which then separated into two pieces and disappeared with the wind.

Aurora nodded slowly, leaning onto him with a content sigh. Ryker noticed that she had a smile on her face and nudged her, giving her a smirk that had a questioning expression along with it. Aurora smiled, knowing what he was referring to.

"I was just thinking that if we met back then, would things be the same up to now?"

Ryker thought to himself for a moment before smiling and leaning back onto the hill.

"Well, I would still fall in love with you and would probably allow myself to be stared at as the only human at the school just to be around you. Though, I was still pretty... darkly troubled back then so maybe wouldn't attract attention to myself like that but you get the point." he replied.

Aurora smiled brightly and rested her head on his chest, enjoying the warmth that radiated from his body. They stayed like this for a while, relaxing and nearly nodding off if it weren't for Ryker suddenly getting up.

"Jeanne's calling us." he told her as he helped her up.

Aurora cooked her head at an angle, wondering why. Ryker shrugged his shoulders, summoning a dark portal for them to walk through.

"It's apparently urgent so we have to." he said with a tone of wonder and mild concern.

Aurora followed him into the portal and they found themselves in the large arena. Jeanne floated at the center with a large smile on her face.

 _I'm glad you two could make it. More specifically, you, Lord Fenrir._ she told them.

Aurora looked at Ryker who looked just as lost as her. Jeanne floated in front of Ryker and turned around, putting a hoof on his shoulder.

 _Tell me, Lord Fenrir, do you think you've changed over the years? And if so, by how much?_ she asked.

Ryker was stunned by the sudden question but looked at Aurora then back at Jeanne.

"I did, milady. I used to be devoid of feelings, uncaring for humans or anyone else for that matter save for you and a certain few. I didn't care if I were to drop dead and I figured that the world would be better off without me. However, ever since a special someone came into my life, my whole view on everything changed. I gave it a chance, I tried opening up more. I talked more, laughed a little, and even joked with others. I found that I should continue on living to preserve those I care for. You, Darko, that special someone... Lady Islingr Suicune, Balto and the Pack, my squadmates from Squadron 5, Ragna, Saphira, and everyone else I consider friend or family. I know that some of the things I did in the past are unforgivable and I can't expect forgiveness. However, that does not mean I can't try and make it up now and for the future as well." Ryker responded, earning beaming smiles from both Jeanne and Aurora.

Jeanne turned around and Darko appeared, the black and gray Arceus had a mirror that glowed with a special power which reminded Aurora about her own. He presented it to Ryker who immediately knew not to look at it. Aurora averted her gaze as well, not wanting anything strange happen to her.

 _This mirror will replay every moment of your life up to now. It will skip... intimate and such memories though will skim over the rest. Are you ready to do such a thing, Lord Fenrir?_ Darko asked with a serious tone.

Ryker gave them a determined look and nodded his head, looking at the mirror straight afterwards.

The memories played across his mind in a flash, the others only seeing a blur in the mirror. Ryker smiled as he relived the moment his little brother was born. He watched as the time line fast forward to a point where his mother and father were training him. The other three looked at him curiously, seeing his smile was such a rare thing. Then, Ryker revisited the memories where his family was slaughtered. Immediately, he growled and his eyes turned pitch black, his white irises present. He calmed down as the mirror showed his years at Union of Legends then his first quest assigned by Jeanne. They looked at him with concern then noticed how he became emotionless soon afterwards. Ryker was watching the part of his life where he took away many lives from the people of Zenith. He watched as the scene moved to the part where he joined the military and killed dozens of enemy armies. It then showed him when he first met Aurora, bleeding and surrounded by the three ex-Legendaries. Ryker smiled a little at this, seeing the memory where he was impaled and injured majorly before being thrown off the side of the mountain and into the river below. He then watched as Aurora found him tending to his wounds and how she tackled him in happiness.

The mirror moved on to their first quest together, specifically, the moment they landed in Hallow Bastion/ Radiant Garden. He watched as the mirror showed him the conflict between Yuffie and Aurora as well as the moment where he faked his death which threw Aurora into a grieving frenzy. Ryker blinked and the mirror moved on once more, showing him the day he defeated Darugas then showing him the day he and Ragna had a small fight over trust. Ryker then watched the moment he and Aurora went to a karaoke place, meeting up with Balto and Jenna. The mirror showed him the day he first transformed in front of them then the day of his birthday. He watched as the mirror showed him the events in the Kanto Army and how he watched Aurora take down Lich, their target Sceptile. The mirror then showed the day Ryker officially became a Legendary and the moment where Ryker and Aurora met up with Ragna and Saphira to go on their quest to Sanctuary to aid Aeruthael and the others.

The mirror then showed him the day he transformed and lost control of himself. Ryker watched with guilt as the memory showed him fighting the other Legendaries and he felt even more guilty when he attacked the two Arceus and Aurora. He then watched his death and how Aurora managed to revive him with the help of her brother. He watched the moment where Aurora began crying and hugged him after he recovered from the coma. The mirror then somewhat rushed through the really recent memories of his time in Alagaësia and when it showed him the memory of him and Aurora coming to the Hall of Origins, the mirror flashed and the other three looked at him with wonder.

They looked at Ryker, wondering if he was okay or not. Aurora called him, receiving no response. Darko tapped Ryker's shoulder, again, receiving no response from the Fenrir. For a moment, they looked at him with concern, wondering if he should have looked at the mirror. He then shocked them all by smiling and repeatedly blinked his eyes.

"That was very intense." he told them, earning relieved sighs from the three of them.

Jeanne then turned and looked at Darko, looking around the arena almost sneakily.

 _There are no other Legendaries here, correct?_ she asked.

Darko nodded and smiled, pointing to the earth below them.

 _Right. I gave them all a break and told them no one was to be in the Hall of Origins today. We can go as planned._ he replied.

Ryker and Aurora looked at them with confused expressions, both wondering why the Hall of Origins was cleared out that day. Jeanne and Darko then told Aurora to stand back and looked at Ryker, both with intense and serious stares.

 _Prepare yourself, Lord Fenrir._ Jeanne told him before turning around.

 _You most likely will be shocked in a few moments._ Darko added before turning around as well.

The two Arceus then gave off a call, their cries mixing together in a beautiful melodic symphony. Ryker and Aurora cringed, the volume of their cry was beginning to painfully pierce their ears. Really, it was a signaling call and what happened in the next few moments would be remembered throughout their entire lives.

A pillar of red flames and tendrils of shadows appeared, twirling upwards in a vortex. Aurora noted how the heat was a lot more intense than any other she faced before though it wasn't as intense as Ryker's. The shadowflame vortex cleared away, revealing a young man with a happy aura.

Aurora blinked, she thought she was seeing double and blinked once more to make sure. She was relived to find that she was wrong the the resemblance of the man to Ryker was similar indeed. The man had short and spiky dark red hair that ended in streaks of black at the hallway points. He had a light muscular build and had the height of 6'3", exactly as tall as Aurora. The man had black tribal lines that covered his faced symmetrically though he had three on each side of his face. They trailed down his neck and Aurora assumed that it covered the rest of his body though in reality, it only covered all the way down to his waist. The man had no facial hair though had a strong jaw, much like Ryker's. The man was wearing a black and red t-shirt and black jeans, topping it off with red tennis shoes. The man smiled, his red eyes sparkled brightly as he walked closer to them. If one were to look, he was handsome as well though close to Ryker's level.

Aurora looked at Ryker who froze at the sight of the man. Ryker then began shaking uncontrollably and with more intensity the closer the man got to them. The man then hugged Ryker, a few tears trailing down his face.

"I missed you, brother. I missed you, Mother, and Father so much." the man sobbed.

Ryker brought up a hand, shakily resting it on the sobbing man's shoulder. For a few seconds, Ryker found that he couldn't say anything. Aurora looked at them with confusion. Who was this man? Why was he hugging Ryker? She then widened her eyes in realization when she registered the black lines on the man's body and the fact that he said "brother".

"... Vulcan? Is it really you?" Ryker asked, his voice shaky.

Vulcan looked up and smiled, nodding his head and lifted his shirt to reveal the rest of his tribal lines. Ryker immediately smiled brightly and hugged his younger brother, finally reunited and feeling whole once more.

"I can't believe it! It's really you! It's really you..." Ryker trailed off as Vulcan hugged him back, his happiness practically radiating off his body.

Ryker then looked at Vulcan, his eyes watery and his smile nearly blinding.

"But how? I saw your body.. " Ryker asked, astonished.

Vulcan chuckled and gave Ryker a smile.

"Didn't you notice something off with my body that day? Here's the thing. Mother and Father knew the villagers were going to get inside soon so they called Jeanne who took me in her care. In my stead, she placed a clay replica of me on the rubble after the villagers left, making me look lifeless. From then on, Jeanne and Darko were raising and training me all the way up to this point." Vulcan explained.

"... "

At first, Ryker seemed extremely happy, similar to his happiness when he and Aurora became human mates. They then looked at him confused as he suddenly became angry. Ryker growled, turning around to face Jeanne and Darko.

 _"You two kept him hidden from me all this time?!"_ he snarled, catching them off guard and scaring Vulcan.

Jeanne and Darko backed away, completely taken aback by the unexpected reaction.

 _We had to! We needed to hide your brother from you._ Darko explained.

 _"That's not good enough. Why, on earth, would you KEEP MY BROTHER WHO I THOUGHT WAS DEAD HIDDEN FROM ME FOR ALL THESE YEARS?!_ " Ryker demanded, his dark aura exploding and black flames started to lick at the floor.

Jeanne shook her head and gathered up her courage. She walked up to Ryker, much to Darko's horror, and bowed her head to him.

 _Think about it, Fang. You were emotionally unstable before and were still freshly horrified over what you done to the people of Zenith. This is why we asked you if you think you've changed over the years, which you have I might add, for the better. Do you think you could've taken care of Vulcan in the state you were in until recently?_

Ryker glared at her his growls subsiding. He then calmed down, his aura suppressing itself and the flames disappearing. Vulcan looked at his brother in astonishment, never before seeing Ryker angry like that. Ryker exhaled deeply, a large jet of flame escaping his mouth as he calmed down. He then looked at Darko and Jeanne and gave them an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have turned on you two. Thank you, for taking care of my brother for all these years. I really appreciate what you've done. And also, thank you for saving him that day.. " Ryker told them, earning relieved sighs and smiles from the two Arceus.

Ryker them turned around and chuckled as his brother wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"We have a lot of catching up to do, Ryker." Vulcan remarked, his smile as bright as Ryker's.

"Indeed. We need to start now, Vulcan." Ryker replied.

The brothers smiled at each other, extremely happy with the outcome of the morning's events. Aurora smiled as well, happy to see Ryker this way and the fact that his brother was actually there and alive. Jeanne and Darko smiled as well, wondering if there was anything that could separate the brothers now.

 **An hour later...**

"Who do you think handled her quests on your vacation days?" Vulcan asked with a laugh, earning a chuckle from Ryker.

They were in Vulcan's hidden chamber. Jeanne and Darko left them to themselves to catch up. Vulcan was sitting on his bed while Ryker and Aurora were sitting on chairs across from him.

"I suppose that makes sense...Have I introduced you to my mate yet, Vulcan?" Ryker replied, making Vulcan smile and look at Aurora who smiled as well.

"No, I don't think you have, Ryker. Hello, my name is Vulcan Fang! Pleasure to meet ya!" Vulcan told Aurora, his voice light and nonchalant.

Aurora smiled and shook his head, taking note at the duo's clashing personalities.

"It's great to meet you as well, Vulcan. I'm Aurora North and, like your brother said, I'm his mate though we only did it as humans." she told him, explaining why she and Ryker weren't officially mates yet.

Vulcan smiled and nodded, his eyes bright with joy.

"I see. I'm just glad I get to see my brother after all this time and find out I have a sister now too." he told them.

Aurora watched as the two brothers got in another conversation about what they did in each other's absences. She noticed that while Ryker was mostly serious and rarely crack jokes, Vulcan is extremely jubilant and likes to make others laugh and smile. While Ryker had a calm, intimidating and powerful atmosphere, Vulcan had a happy, friendly, and powerful atmosphere as well though like his brother, didn't have to try to show it. Ryker's build and Vulcan's build showed that Ryker liked to train and stay fit while Vulcan likes to work out every once and a while and relax. While Ryker's voice was deep, Vulcan's voice wasn't though both of their voices carried that same accent. Aurora could go on with their opposites but decided not to and just felt happy for Ryker. She watched and occasionally added some input and answered some questions as they two talked back and forth. She wondered how happy Ryker was feeling then figured that he was as happy as she was when they mated that day.

Aurora wondered what would the rest of the day would be like. She looked at Ryker and Vulcan, both finishing up their input and thus, ending their conversation. They were talking for about an hour and a half, both happy as one could be.

"So Aurora, if you were really to describe my brother in one word, what would it be?" Vulcan suddenly asked her, Ryker turning to look at her as well.

Aurora took a moment to gather her thoughts. She reflected on all of their past adventures and their conversations. She then smiled and pointed to Ryker's necklace, Vulcan noticing it for the first time.

"I think that's easy. "Alpha" describes your brother completely. He's a natural born leader, strong, brave, downright scary sometimes, and always protective over his pack. It's his nickname and I feel like it is his status among our family, yourself included of course." Aurora replied.

Vulcan smiled and nodded, looking at his brother who smiled as well and held Aurora's hand warmly. Ryker then thought about something they should've taken care of earlier.

"Do you think we should let Ragna and Saphira know that we're alright?" he asked.

Aurora shook her head, Vulcan getting up and stretched.

"No, Jeanne said that she would tell them of the situation once they wake up." Aurora replied.

Ryker nodded and looked at Vulcan who finished stretching. Ryker's ears then twitched, picking up a sound that only he and maybe Vulcan can hear.

"What is it?" Vulcan asked, hearing the noise as well though not recognizing it.

Ryker smiled and got up, Aurora as well, and stretched like his brother did.

"The Pack called. You know, the one I told you about? Lady Aniu and them?" Ryker replied, earning a nod from Vulcan.

Ryker put on his jacket and Aurora shifted into her **Natural Form** , wondering what the call was for.

"They're calling me over. I think they need help with something." Ryker explained further before giving Vulcan a smile.

"Can I meet them?" Vulcan asked, hope and excitement laced his words.

"Of course, I don't see why you can't. But, when we get there, let me walk in first so they know you're with me. Stay in your human form too, don't want to shock them at first sight." Ryker responded.

 _I'm sure they would love to meet you._ Aurora added, raising Vulcan's hopes a bit more.

They left the chamber and Ryker notified Jeanne before leaving. He summoned a dark portal and when they stepped through, they were on the snowy summit of Mt. Silver, the Pack's new location. Ryker sniffed the air and led them to a large gathering of trees at one end of the summit where behind them was a part of the mountain that prevented one from falling off the edge should they walk that far. Ryker led them a bit further, stopping once he spotted one of the scouts of the Pack. The wolf of light recognized Ryker and Aurora and nodded, allowing them to continue further though it kept a close eye on Vulcan.

Ryker led them into a large clearing, caves made by magical means were erected all over the place. Ryker followed Aniu's scent to a cave furthest away, finding her, Balto, Jenna, Demon, Rasha and her kids who were now full grown, and Gray within. Aniu and Demon were the only ones awake and they smiled brightly at the sight of their visitors.

 _Glad you can make it, Fang. And you as well, Aurora._ Aniu announced as she looked at the third person at the mouth of the cave, not recognizing him at all.

 _Who is the newcomer?_ Demon asked, noting the aura that radiated off of Vulcan which was similar to Ryker's though lacked the intimidation, dark, and flaming intensity of which Ryker had.

Ryker bowed to the two respectfully, Aurora and Vulcan doing the same. Ryker then looked at the Pack leaders and smiled.

"Would you believe me if I said if he's my brother, Vulcan?" Ryker answered, earning gaping mouths and incredulous looks from the two of them.

At his voice, the rest of them woke up and got excited at this sight of Ryker and Aurora. They greeted him and such, Rasha's children simply hugged him happily due to the fact that they were too big to tackle and hang onto him. They then noticed Vulcan and gave questioning looks.

"Everyone, I would like to introduce my younger brother, Vulcan. I recently reunited with him this morning." Ryker announced.

They looked at him and wondered he was joking then dismissed it since he almost never jokes, especially about family. Balto walked up to Vulcan and offered a paw.

 _Nice to meet you, I'm Balto and your brother basically kept me in check whenever he's around._ Balto said with a chuckle.

Vulcan smiled and shook his paw.

"I know, he told me about all of you. I hope that you don't mind I consider you as a brother as well since he does." Vulcan replied, earning smiles from the group.

Balto shook his head and he stepped to the side as everyone introduced themselves. Ryker an Aurora noticed that some of them, besides Rasha's children, looked different. Balto was larger and was almost as tall as Aurora. He now had golden runes marking his entire left shoulder and chest. Jenna was larger as well and had glowing white markings on her as well, covering the right side of her face and her entire chest. Rasha's fur was longer and she had blue markings lining her entire face, covering both sides symmetrically and training down her back stopping at the tail. Gray seemed more muscular and had blue markings as well thought they only lined his chest and legs. The only ones without markings were Rasha's children, the three didn't earn them yet. Aniu and Demon had markings too but they always had them, both covered from chest to tail with Aniu's as blue and Demon's as golden. Their markings showed their occupations in battle, each having their own unique designs as well. Aniu and Demon's meant "Leader" though Aniu's was in Light dialect while Demon's was in Dark dialect. Balto's meant "arcane warrior/assault" in Light dialect, Jenna's meant "healer/scout" in Light dialect, Rasha's meant "sniper/hunter" in Dark dialect, and finally, Gray's meant "warrior/fighter" in Light dialect.

 _So you're our uncle too?_ Aero asked, his sisters, Violet and Scarlet, wondering as well.

Vulcan nodded and smiled, earning more questions from them. Though they were older now, being early teenagers in human years, their curiosity remained.

 _So you're just like him? A Fenrir?_ Violet asked.

Vulcan nodded and summoned a dark red fireball, a ball of darkness in his other hand. He then combined them and made the ball implode on itself, making several bright flashes that amazed the children.

 _They seem to like him._ Aurora privately told Ryker who was watching the entire thing with amusement.

 _They do, don't they? I just wonder what he looks like in his true form._ Ryker replied.

 _Why don't you just ask him to transform?_ Aurora questioned, giving him a amused look.

Ryker shook his head, looking at the sky outside to see that the sun was still at its highest.

 _Later maybe, I'll just wait when he does so himself._ Ryker replied, Aurora rolling her eyes at him.

Later, Ryker left the cave to take a short walk. He walked down the path for about an hour, ending up in another clearing almost as large as the previous one. He inhaled deeply then exhaled, smiling then began to stretch. He stood around too much that morning and he felt like doing something. He then turned around to see Vulcan walking towards him.

"Restless too, huh?" Vulcan asked with a chuckle.

Ryker nodded and gave him a questioning look.

"Are the others still back at the cave?" Ryker asked, stretching his arm.

"They were when I left. I don't know about now though."

Ryker then took off his jacket, folding it and placing it neatly on the ground.

"Do you know how to fight?" Ryker asked, Vulcan's eyes lighting up at the question.

"I do, both in Fenrir and human forms actually." Vulcan replied.

He then smirked and got in a fighting stance, challenging Ryker who chuckled. Ryker then smirked as well before distancing himself from his brother, putting about ten feet between them. Little did they know, Aniu and the others were watching from afar.

Vulcan was first to move, disappearing and reappearing in the air above Ryker, a kick aimed at the latter. Ryker looked up and grabbed Vulcan's foot, throwing him to the ground. Vulcan landed with a grunt, no longer wanting to underestimate his brother. Vulcan then righted himself and sped towards Ryker, assaulting the older brother with a flurry of quick and powerful punches. Ryker blocked or deflected each one, creating a small boom noise every time. The others looked with fascination, seeing only blurs instead of the Fenrirs' arms and hands. Vulcan then stopped his punching rush and decided to kick Ryker in the stomach, sending the Alpha into a tree.

Ryker got up and puffed out his chest and pulled back his shoulders, stretching them and making them create popping noises. He then warped behind Vulcan and punched his back, making Vulcan suck air through his teeth in pain. Vulcan then turned around to kick Ryker on the side of the head though Ryker blocked it with his arm. The force of the impact created a small shockwave that created a breeze for the others.

 _This is insane._ Balto told them as the brothers continued to fight.

 _Such power..._ Demon remarked as the wind blew at his face, making him squint a bit.

Aurora was the only one who could actually see their attacks, her eyes flicking to every direction as a punch flew or a kick commenced. She was amazed at the speed and power of the two, wondering if it was safe for them to train like that.

Ryker rushed Vulcan with a flurry of punches, landing some punches to the side. Vulcan grunted but he blocked the rest, growling as he resorted to breath a blast of fire at Ryker's face. Ryker, however, knew it was only a ruse and he crossed his arms, blocking Vulcan's kick. He then flipped backwards in midair, kicking Vulcan back and creating a distance between them.

At that moment, they smirked at each other, both summoning their weapons and armor. Ryker's armor and sword intimidated Vulcan though he shook his head, focusing on his sparring opponent rather than the weapons and armor used.

Vulcan had black armor on that was similar to Ryker's though it was much more in the heavy armor category while Ryker's was in the medium category. Vulcan's armor was crimson red at the chest area and sides as well as the forearm and the back of his legs. His armor covered his entire body, having saw-like spikes lining the gauntlets and leggings. There were rubies on his armor as well, one on each gauntlet, one on his forehead of the helmet, and a large one on his chest that seemed to have a ball of flame within. His helmet covered his entire face save for his eyes, the helmet covering everything else and sprouted two horn-like structures. It was black though the face of the helmet was lined with red.

In his hand was a large greatsword that was a dark silver color. The large sword had flame-like barb-stuctures branching off it on the sides that gave was edged with crimson. In the middle of the blade were glowing red runes that, when looked at from a different angle, was shaped like a wolf head. The hilt of the greatsword was black, and instead of being open, actually closed around Vulcan's hand (like that of a keyblade). It had several glowing rubies studded onto it and a leather grip that ended in a strand that hung of the hilt of the sword. On the pommel was a sharp end of a ruby that had small red flames surrounding it. Total, the sword had a decent reach being as long as Ryker's. Ryker's swords though had unique reaches rather than having short reaches like those of normal swords.

The others looked with awe as the two stood in the clearing, their swords and armor gleaming in the sunlight though Ryker's sword glowed darkly while Vulcan's sword flared with a red flaming intensity. The group wondered who would win, their unasked question buzzed around in their heads.

Ryker gripped his sword and had it ready, wondering if Vulcan will make the first move. Vulcan did move first actually, swinging his greatsword in a swift downwards strike. Ryker lifted his sword and blocked it, the impact making his feet sink somewhat into the earth since Vulcan jumped and attacked from above. Ryker took his other head and punched Vulcan in the stomach, making the crimson warrior gasp in pain. Vulcan retaliated by kicking at Ryker's arm, making it easier for him to follow through with his downwards strike. At the last moment, Ryker sidestepped and Vulcan's sword cleaved through the earth like a hot knife through butter. Vulcan ducked as Ryker kicked at his head and pulled his greatsword out of the ground. He then swung it at Ryker, red flames emitting from the center of the blade as well as the five branches of the sword, not including the tip. Ryker blocked it but Vulcan turned around quickly and slashed in the opposite direction, earning a large cut on Ryker's arm. Ryker winced and sent a torrent of flames and shadows at his already defensive brother.

Vulcan wasn't stupid, knowing full well that his older brother's flames and shadows can actually hurt other Fenrir and not vice versa. He dodged most of the attack, cringing as his arm was singed and his leg was slashed. He landed with a huff and stood on guard, waiting for Ryker to make another move. Ryker then sprouted his wings and flew towards Vulcan, his sword poised for a strike. Vulcan barely ducked out of the way and sprouted his wings as well, them being red with black membranes. He flew into the sky around fifteen feet off the ground. Ryker followed suit, his wings larger and obviously stronger than Vulcan's. Vulcan charged forward and spiraled towards Ryker, covering himself with a cloak of red flames. Ryker was too close and could only block the attack, grunting in exertion as Vulcan continued his attack almost like a drill. As the greatsword grinded against his own sword, several sparks fell and some landed on nearby trees, a few actually catching fire. Ryker then shoved forwards, causing Vulcan to be unbalanced and making him stop to right himself. Ryker took this chance and warped behind Vulcan, punching where the wings met the back. Vulcan gasped in pain and plummeted, trying to regain control of his now numb wings.

When he was a couple feet away from the ground, he finally regained control of his wings and kept himself suspended and gliding through the air, sighing at the close call. He then glared at Ryker who smirked back at him, vowing revenge for the move his older brother just pulled. Vulcan the flew up, his sword entirely covered in flames as well as some tendrils of darkness, and speared himself at Ryker. Ryker ducked but Vulcan planned on that, taking his other hand to punch Ryker. He successfully landed a punch to Ryker's face before hearing a crack. The others cringed at the sight, wincing as they heard the crack which sounded loudly.

Vulcan turned to see Ryker snap his nose back in place, blood leaking profusely onto the ground below. Ryker looked at him and narrowed his eyes, making Vulcan internally shiver. Vulcan suddenly cried out in pain as he felt a searing pain on his side. He looked to see a dwindling black flame on his side which then dissipated and left a large burn on him. He was horrified yet amazed that the fireball burned through his armor so easily, his armor being made of a strong alloy of black-stained adamantine and pyroite, a red metal only found back at their homeland. He then turned to see Ryker swing his sword at him, Vulcan barely able to block it. Ryker's sword slid across Vulcan's own, the serrated edges creating sparks as well as a piercing grinding noise.

Ryker stopped his attack and suddenly reversed the direction, spinning around and kicking Vulcan in the chest. Vulcan plummeted and crashed into the ground, sending a large bowl of dust into the air. Ryker landed several feet away, his wings giving him a quite devilish look. The others looked on with concern for the both of them.

 _Okay, guys, seriously. Is that safe? Should they keep going?_ Rasha asked them, earning conflicted looks from everyone else.

Grace and Vargulf were present as well, watching the battle with awe.

 _They're brothers and they're both Fenrir... I wonder what they look like._ Vargulf told Grace, both of them in their feral forms.

 _I don't know but I certainly wouldn't want to try and put a curse on one of them as well as getting on their bad side._ she replied, her blue-tipped silver tails waved in the breeze.

Ryker knew Vulcan wasn't done for yet and flapped his wings, clearing the dust. It revealed Vulcan in his **Natural Form,** his aura much more powerful and apparent. Vulcan was also donning armor with the same color scheme as his armor on human from though it covered his entire body and the upper half of his face so only the bottom half of his muzzle and his eyes were apparent. Vulcan growled, spreading his wings and let loose a powerful howl into the air.

 _There's half of your answer._ Grace remarked to Vargulf who nodded, his black fur swaying to and fro with his furious nods.

Vulcan then charged at Ryker, the nine-foot tall crimson Fenrir left scorch marks as he ran. Ryker smirked at the sight of his brother in his true form, finding that it fit him better. Ryker then focused and threw up a wall of flames, disappearing once it formed a pillar. Vulcan skidded to a stop but eventually tripped and rolled through the flame pillar, groaning as the flames burned at his body. He then got up and looked around, half-expecting to see his brother lying crushed somewhere under his weight. Instead, he found no traces of his brother anywhere. He then spotted Ryker on the other side of the field, an amused expression upon his face.

Vulcan growled and warped behind Ryker, slashing at him with a claw. Ryker sidestepped and took Vulcan's fore leg, flipping his younger brother over him as he was as light as a feather! Vulcan exclaimed as he crashed onto his back, a large huff of breath escaped his maw. Ryker then reared back his head as Vulcan tried to blast him with a wave of shadows. Ryker retaliated by using his own dark powers and sent a ball of darkness to counter Vulcan's. As their two powers collided, Vulcan got up and turned his attack into a beam, forcing Ryker's back. Ryker added power to his attack and turned it into a beam as well, having more stability since it was being launched from his hand rather than Vulcan who fired it from his mouth. Ryker suddenly canceled his attack and sidestepped, then warping behind Vulcan and slashing his back with his sword. Vulcan roared out in pain, blindly slashing out with his claws. Ryker was thrown back, a few slash marks now present on his armor and he trailed blood along the way. He crashed and a ring of dust kicked up, obscuring their view of him.

For a moment, all that was heard was silence and Vulcan's heavy breathing

Everyone looked incredulous, shocked that Ryker may have been defeated. In all the battles they watched Ryker in, not once he had ever lost. The dust settled and multiple gasps of surprise could be heard. Ryker could not be found, a crater being the only evidence he was there. They tried looking around to spot him but ended with no such luck.

Vulcan froze, hearing a very low growl. The growl was not of killing intent, no, but it was still indeed menacing. Vulcan turned around to see Ryker materialise from tendrils of darkness. First, they saw his legs and his tail. Then, they saw the rest of his lower body, his muscles impressively toned. Then, they saw his shoulders and wings though they were curious about his chest and back spikes, both gleaming in the sunlight and showing their sharpness. Finally, the shadows formed Ryker's head, his eyes closed though he was still growling. Ryker's armor materialised as well, giving him an even more daunting appearance. Vulcan took a few steps back, finding that his appearance and even _how_ he appeared was terrifying with the tendrils of darkness and whatnot.

Ryker opened his eyes, scaring them with the fact that his eyes were completely black save for his irises. He then rolled his shoulders, stretching them then the rest of his body, the flames that lined his family brands flared with dark intensity. Ryker stopped growling and looked at Vulcan calmly, a couple of heads taller even though they were both in **Natural Form.**

 _Ready?_ Ryker asked, his voice deep, powerful, and authoritative.

Vulcan swallowed the lump in his throat and gathered his courage, remembering this was a spar between him and his brother. He then bared his teeth and charged at the dark, in color and in presence, Fenrir. Ryker stood his ground and when Vulcan reached him, he warped behind him and and slashed at his younger brother's back. Vulcan cried out in pain as the attack made him lose balance and trip onto the ground. He got up and glared at his older brother who still wore an emotionless expression.

Balto shook his head slowly, still not registering Ryker's appearance. It was surprising somewhat, yes, seeing Vulcan's appearance but The Alpha's, well...it was on an entirely different level. He wondered if there were other Fenrir that had a similar appearance to this but then remembered the claim that Ryker was the first and only Fenrir with that amount of power. He shook his head again, concluding that Ryker's appearance was only exclusive to him.

 _Does anyone else notice the two blades sprouting from his chest and the other two from his back?_ he asked.

 _He told that it was used for combat such as this._ Aurora told them, showing them the memory of her seeing Ryker slicing through a boulder with the large sword-like spikes.

The rest of them shivered, only Vargulf seemed to be the only one positively affected.

 _I wish I had those._ he wistfully thought to himself.

Grace, however, heard this and shook her head furiously.

 _No way, you'd be scary to look at. Besides,_ she smacked his rump with a paw whilst the others laughing a little when he yelped, _you're fine just the way you are._

Vargulf muttered angrily to himself but thanked Grace for her comment. They laughed a bit more before returning their attention to Ryker and Vulcan, the former still calm and winning while the latter frustrated and fighting with all he had. They noticed that Vulcan was probably the third most powerful out of all of them, having enough power to wipe out an entire continent. Aurora, being second, having enough power to probably destroy (if she ever had the intention) maybe three or four continents. As for Ryker, if anyone got him angry enough...

Vulcan jumped over Ryker, flipping in midair, and slashed at Ryker's back as well as being careful to avoid cutting himself with the blade-like structures. Ryker didn't even do so much as wince in pain when the attack landed. Ryker turned around and, before his brother landed, bathed the ground before him in flames. Vulcan landed and comically yelped, somewhat dancing in the circle of flames and eventually getting out. He then took a deep breath before summoning sharp large blade-like shards of... blood. They floated in the air around him, following his movements. He looked at Ryker who, along with the others, looked very surprised.

 _Something I learned that was unique to me. Darko told me how to master it and said that only a few of our species could do it. He also said that it was strange and could be handy for defense._ Vulcan explained.

Ryker nodded, impressed and cooked his head at an angle to get a closer look.

 _I certainly can't do that. From the energy they're giving off, I think that you were born with this ability. Fascinating really._ Ryker remarked.

Vulcan smirked, his blood shards pointed themselves at Ryker.

 _The best part is,_ Vulcan added, _I can use it as long as I want to and not have to worry about running out or getting sick._

He then slashed at Ryker, his speed surprisingly fast. Ryker jumped back, a large slash mark apparent on his chest. He then watched with wonder as the drops of blood that escaped his wound flew and added themselves to Vulcan's blood blades.

 _And the more I cut, the more powerful they get._ Vulcan remarked before slashing at Ryker with multiple blood shards.

Ryker growled before releasing a torrent of flames from his maw, turning the blood shards into red steam. However, Vulcan simply chuckled as the steam just reformed themselves and solidified.

 _I see. This is definitely a unique ability. Your Core Malevolence._ Ryker stated, nodding with understanding.

 _Core Malevolence?_ Aurora wondered, looking at the others to see they were just as confused.

Demon and Aniu, however, seemed to have an inkling of the concept.

 _Core Malevolence, an ultra-rare thing for a Fenrir to have. If I remember correctly, there is only a fraction of a chance to be born with one._ Demon informed them.

 _I haven't seen Ryker use one either, he most likely doesn't have one. Vulcan now has a higher chance of winning._ Aniu added, earning looks of incredulity from her children.

 _Whatever happened to just "Fang", Mom? You never called him "Ryker" before._ Balto asked her.

Aniu visibly blushed with embarrassment, somewhat flustered that they caught her informality, and tried to focus on the battle below. The others looked at her with amusement before doing so as well. Aurora looked at them, Ryker jumping to the side to avoid Vulcan's attacks.

Vulcan smirked, getting confident as he slashed with ferocity, nicking Ryker on the shoulder, forearms, and the chest area multiple times. All the while, his blood blades got sharper and larger with each attack as the blood accumulated from Ryker came in semi-copious amounts.

 _Ok, seriously, someone needs to stop them before one of them drops._ Rasha commented, clearly concerned.

 _I think this is their way of sparring. I don't think they'll end up hurting each other... too much.. Besides, I wouldn't want to get caught in the crossfire._ Scarlet quipped, her mother nodding with reluctance.

Ryker tackled Vulcan, clenching his fangs down onto his younger brother's neck. They tumbled, Vulcan growling as he tried to kick Ryker off. Ryker, however, wouldn't let up and continued to snap at Vulcan. Finally, Ryker jumped back as Vulcan tried to attack with his blood shards. They stared at each other, Ryker calm and Vulcan focused. They then began charging an attack within their mouths, Vulcan's consisting of blood, fire, and darkness and Ryker's consisting of just fire and darkness. As their energies reached the limit, they both fired, the beams colliding with each other. However, unlike before, neither of the Fenrir budged but both rather stood their ground.

The beam shifted towards Vulcan who noticed the change. Vulcan quickly added more power to the beam, shifting it back towards Ryker. Ryker noticed the large output of power Vulcan gave out and had an idea, deciding to not do anything for the moment. As the beam got closer to Ryker, Vulcan kept feeding it energy, knowing that even with all of his power, he wouldn't be able to kill Ryker but at least knock him out. The beam got closer and closer, the others save for Vulcan wondered why Ryker didn't try to put more power behind his attack. Vulcan was too focus on feeding the beam energy to notice Ryker was planning something. Finally, when the beam got around a couple of inches or so away, Ryker gave his end more power, sending the beam speeding at Vulcan who was surprised at the sudden burst of power. The beam bursted when it made contact with Vulcan, sending him hurtling through the sky. Trails of smoke followed him, a large scorch mark also present on the area he had stood on. Ryker sprinted, taking flight and caused small gales of wind to form in his wake. He caught up to Vulcan who was still spiraling through the air and blunted his back blades, planning to catch Vulcan. He succeeded and Vulcan landed on his back without getting cut. Ryker slowed his flight as they descended, turning his head to check on his brother. Vulcan, barely conscious, batted Ryker on the head lightly with a paw.

 _To think I thought I could stand a chance against my brother, The Alpha._ Vulcan told him with a chuckle.

Ryker chuckled as well, landing and setting Vulcan down gently against a tree.

 _Well I thought you did well,_ right? _Beta?_ Ryker shot back, Vulcan surprised at the new title then smiling with pride.

 _"Beta"? Where'd you get that from?_ Vulcan asked.

 _Well, rumors of The Alpha's younger brother spread rather quickly. I heard some of The Pack members call you that earlier._

 _Ah.. I like it. I think it's fitting for me, don't you think?_

Ryker smiled and nodded, stretching.

 _Whatever you feel content with._ Ryker told him.

As they tended to their wounds, Aurora and company made their way to them. Aurora sighed as she smacked Ryker on the back, the latter looking at her with a questioning look. Aurora smacked Vulcan as well on the muzzle, the younger Fenrir giving his older brother a look of confusion.

 _It was supposed to be a spar, not a battle._ she told them with an accusatory glare.

 _You were watching?_ Vulcan asked, looking at all of them.

 _How could we not watch a fight between the last two Fenrir?_ Jenna retorted with a laugh.

Vulcan chuckled and scratched at an itch behind his ear, his face showed amusement as he saw Aurora, who was VERY insistent, clean and heal some of Ryker's wounds. Ryker looked frozen, his back stiffened after hearing Aurora scold him.

 _What's the matter, brother?_ Vulcan asked.

 _Nothing. It's just that I sometimes wonder if "Alpha" is more fitting for her rather than me._ Ryker replied, earning a tail-smack to the muzzle from Aurora as they all laughed.

 **A few hours later...**

Vulcan yawned, smacking his lips and licking his fangs. He looked at the picked clean Miltank underneath him. He decided not to eat the bones and burned the remains.

 _So, how was your day so far?_ Aniu asked, walking up to him.

They were in a clearing, both had hunted for food. The others were in the den resting or, in Ryker's case, undergoing a massage from Aurora as "punishment." Speaking of, Aurora told them earlier about how Ryker lost his motor skills after getting a massage earning laughter from the group.

 _It's going super! I'm reunited with my brother and I met all of you. Yours?_ Vulcan replied.

 _Well, thank you. Tell me, is your brother what you expected to be?_ Aniu asked him.

 _Hmm. Well, I always heard that he was strong and scary and frightening in some cases. Though, I always thought of him as probably stern, quiet, and protective. He's definitely protective, that's for sure. I heard from Jeanne that he used to be practically mute before Aurora came along. As for stern, well, you get the picture._

Aniu nodded, agreeing with him completely. She then looked at the sky, smiling at the slowly descending sun.

 _Why don't you come with me and join the others?_ she asked, earning a smile as well as a nod from Vulcan.

He followed her back to the den, to find mostly everyone asleep save for Ryker. Aurora was back in her **Natural Form,** sleeping underneath the older Fenrir's wing. Aniu went to the back of the cave and joined Demon in slumber as Vulcan found a spot across from Ryker. Vulcan looked out the cave and yawned again, giving his older brother a smile.

 _What a day._ he remarked.

 _Indeed._ Ryker responded, looking at the sky as well whilst making sure Aurora was still covered by his wing.

 _Hey Ryker, do you think we'll ever return to Zenith one day? Home?_ Vulcan asked, surprising Ryker with his sudden question.

Ryker sighed and looked at his fore paws, imagining stains of blood covering them.

 _I'm sure we can but I don't know what we will find there. Maybe there are some people living there now since then or maybe a whole kingdom or the like. All I know is that they certainly won't welcome me back._ he replied.

 _But they were the ones who tried to kill US though. They killed off our family and the rest of our species ever since the Fenrir were discovered several decades ago._ Vulcan shot back, making sure his mental link was only connected to Ryker to avoid waking or disturbing the others.

 _That doesn't excuse me from killing off a whole civilization, Vulcan. Sure, there could be new ones living there now but I'm sure they're survivors somewhere in there that still remember what happened. People fear what they don't understand, Vulcan. They fear what they can't control. They fear the unknown. We are part of all three of those categories but at least you still have a chance at showing them that you are friendly._ Ryker replied with a weak smile.

 _There's such things as second chances, brother._ Vulcan retorted, barely restraining himself from growling.

Ryker remained silent, not wanting to talk about the subject anymore. Vulcan got the hint and calmed down, still somewhat miffed.

 _I just want you to be happy, that's all._ Vulcan told him, earning a small chuckle from his brother.

Ryker gave him an amused looking, only a span of a day and his younger brother was already really considerate to him.

 _You mean you didn't notice it yet? I'm already happy. Sure, the past can't be forgotten but that's what the future is for. If I can't get forgiven then at least there's others in need, right? Besides, I have a family and a loving mate. Now, to top it all off, you're by my side again. There's nothing else I could ask for. I'm content with the way things are now._ Ryker replied.

Vulcan looked with realization and found that his brother must be right. He then smiled, nodding before returning in his attention to the outside world. He then heard a small chuckle from Ryker.

 _So, ever thought of having a mate yet?_ Ryker asked him.

Vulcan blushed though Ryker couldn't see it under the black and red fur. Vulcan became nervous and tried to come up with a response.

 _W-W-What are you t-t-t-talking about? You're really funny, brother._ Vulcan stammered.

 _Well, you're an adult and I can tell by your personality that you don't want to live life without someone to love on that level._ Ryker replied.

 _J-J-J-Just shut up! I'm taking a nap!_ Vulcan shot back, turning to the wall.

Ryker chuckled with amusement before continuing to stare outside and wondered how their lives would go on from that point.

 **A few weeks later...**

Jeanne looked at the group, consisting of Balto, Vulcan, Aurora, and Ryker. She nodded, clearing her throat before she began talking though it seemed redundant since she was going to talk to them mentally anyway.

 _Thank you all for reporting here today. And thank you, Balto, for volunteering to help out with their next mission._ she began.

 _No problem, happy to help!_ Balto replied, saluting jokingly.

Jeanne looked at him and smiled, shaking her head and looking at Ryker.

 _Both of your brothers' personalities are the same._ she remarked to him.

Ryker chuckled, Aurora joining him in laughter.

"True. I noticed this about a month ago. They're both very helpful and caring yet both are spontaneous and uncontrollable." he replied, receiving "Hey!"s from the two.

Vulcan huffed and looked at Jeanne with a rushed expression.

" _ANYWAYS,_ what quest will we be assigned for this time?" he asked.

Jeanne nodded, summoning an orb that showed them images of a vast expanse of land full of wildlife, forests, and... dragons..

 _You will all be going to the land of Skyrim where there is a powerful sinister force lurking. I will transport you to someone I think will have a major role in terms of fate. Help him on his journeys and together and you will all prevail victorious._ she told them.

Ryker nodded slowly, looking at the others.

"You think we're ready for this?" he asked, immediately receiving nods of affirmation from them.

He then looked back at Jeanne and gave her a questioning look.

"Who is the man we are meeting up with?" he asked.

 _I believe in that dimension, he is the "Dovakhiin," or in other words, the "Dragonborn." Apparently, he has the ability to speak in the native dragon tongue as well as use some of their abilities, Shouts, and use them for either defense or offense. This man doesn't know he's the Dragonborn but he will find out soon. DO NOT tell him of your origins or anything about his destiny._ she replied, summoning a portal.

They walked up to him though were stopped by Jeanne before stepping through.

 _By the way, this dimension is VERY FAR from ours and I may not be able to safely get you there. Be prepared and good luck._ Jeanne added, earning nods from them.

Since this was an unknown dimension, Aurora transformed into her human form just in case they ended up in a populated area. Balto, however, remained in his wolf form since he won't attract as much attention. Vulcan rolled down his jacket sleeves down to cover his family brands. They then looked at each other and all nodded, stepping through the portal.

 **Skyrim, near Helgen Keep...**

"Quiet back there!" the guard shouted, earning looks of hatred from the prisoners in the back of the cart.

They were traveling on a road to Helgen Keep, a large fort meant for the Imperial Legion to manage most trading services and hold executions. Within, a small village bustled with excitement, noticing the preparations for execution.

There were two carts, both being pulled by strong horses with the colors of mahogany. In both carts were prisoners on death row, all accused of a serious crime or less. One prisoner, a Stormcloak, rival to the Imperial Legion, looked up to see a man who was just beginning to wake up. The Stormcloak, who was actually the leader of the faction who goes by the name of Ulfric, smiled at the man.

Ulfric had long blond hair, traveling down his neck in braids. He was in his forties, his body heavy-duty and rippling with uncle's though signs of aging were apparent. He had bright blue eyes and a large nose which ended in a bulbous tip. He nodded at the man across of him whose vision was beginning to clear up.

The man was in his late twenties, being only 26 in age. He was fair-skinned, having silver-gray eyes that went well with his hair. His hair was a natural dark blue color, nearly black. His hair was short and only reached down to his chin which was strong as well as his jaw. He had a tattoo on the left side of his face a half circle around his eye. There was a line that went through the half circle across his eye and intersected with a short line around half an inch long on the bottom of his face. The man was exactly 6'4", having well toned muscles and developed abdominals. His knuckles were covered with small calluses due to repetitive punching to whatever he punched. The man looked at Ulfric with one eye then looked ahead, estimating their time of arrival to Helgen to be around half an hour.

"Greetings, fellow prisoner. I am Jarl Ulfric of the Stormcloaks. May I know your name?" Ulfric stated, ignoring the guard's earlier command.

The man looked at Ulfric with an unsure expression, knowing that there was a large dispute between Stormcloaks and Legionnaires.

"I am Ultima, a foreigner to Skyrim." the man replied.

Ulfric smiled and leaned back, putting his shackled hands on his lap.

"So, Ultima, what did they arrest you for?" he asked.

Ultima, figuring that he might as well talk, sighed deeply.

"They didn't believe me when I said that I was a foreigner traveling here to look for an honest job. They thought I illegally crossed over to here and arrested me, sentencing me to death as you can see." Ultima explained.

Ulfric nodded and looked at another man who Ultima that was too fidgety.

"And you?"

The stringy man, skin dark in color, swallowed his throat fearfully and checked on the guard in case he was looking.

"I'm Jared from Rorikstead. They arrested me for stealing from a noble." he replied, earning looks of incredulity from the rest of the prisoners.

Jared nervously looked around, scared out of his wits. He then buried his head between his knees, hyperventilating.

"I don't want to die. I don't want to die." he reiterated over and over.

Ulfric laughed as he gave Ultima an amused look. Ultima simply remained silent, wondering when would be the right to escape his bonds...

"We'll all meet our deaths one day whether we like it or not. Might as well face the truth." Ulfric remarked before getting smacked by a guard rather harshly.

"I want silence back there!" the guard barked before returning his attention to the road.

Ultima looked at his bonds and narrowed his eyes, conflicted and not sure what to make of the situation.

 _Should I wait or should I just break out now with magic..._ he wondered.

 **At a lake near Helgen...**

Vulcan opened his eyes to see himself safely land alongside Balto. Balto sniffed the air and looked around, seeing acres and acres of land.

 _Nice out here. I wonder where's the tallest mountain so I can piss and mark my territory there._ he joked, causing Vulcan to chuckle.

Vulcan then looked around some more, trying to spot Ryker and Aurora.

Well we landed safely. I wonder where's Aurora and Ry-?"

Vulcan noticed a bright flash and looked up along with Balto. Far above them were Ryker and Aurora plummeting to the ground like meteors, a trail of burning atmosphere in their wake.

 _Oh, jeez._ Balto remarked, wondering what to do.

At that moment, Ryker opened his eyes, looking to his left to see Aurora trying to open her recently sprouted wings to recover from their dangerous descent. However, the force and speed of their falling was too much for Aurora to move her wings. In fact, it hurt terribly whenever she tried to. Aurora spotted Ryker who propelled himself to her with his now sprouted wings. Ryker reached her and wrapped his arms around her, finding that he could barely unfurl his wings. With a burst of effort, Ryker unfurled his wings just in time to angle their descent near the lake. However, they were still falling too dangerously fast. As they neared the surface, Ryker let go of Aurora who landed safely in the water. Ryker, however, was still descending though his trajectory wasn't at the water.

Aurora surfaced and along with Vulcan and Balto and looked to see Ryker crash landed into the ground and skip across the land like a pebble on water. He tumbled and flipped several yards before crashing into a few trees and finally leaving their fields of vision.

"Ryker!" Aurora shouted with worry as she got out of the water, dried herself, retracted her wings, and ran after him.

Vulcan and Balto ran after her, following her to where Ryker crashed.

"You better not die on me, brother." Vulcan muttered to himself as he ran.

They finally reached him and stopped, seeing a broken boulder nearby as well as another splintered tree. Ryker laid there, facedown with his wings sprawled out. Aurora ran up to him and got to her knees, relieved that he was still breathing. She checked the condition of his wings which were both dislocated but were otherwise fine. She checked the rest of his body and only found a few bruises here and there as well as a couple of cuts.

 _Ryker? Wake up, buddy. You all right?_ Balto said with concern as he nudged Ryker's head.

Ryker's eyes snapped open and he sat up rather quickly, surprising them. He then took a look at his wings and grabbed one of them with his hands.

"Don't you dare!" Aurora told him as she began healing his lesser wounds.

Ryker, however, rolled his eyes with a small smile and shoved his wing back into its socket, doing the same with the other. At this, Balto and Vulcan cringed though looked with amazement since Ryker didn't seem to be fazed by the pain. However, he did wince when Aurora slapped him for ignoring her.

"What the hell did I just say to you? Anyways, you feeling okay?" Aurora told him, somewhat angry at first then concerned.

"Are _you_ alright? You landed safely in the water right?" Ryker asked, ignoring his own condition.

 _The hell you ju-? YOU were the one who just skipped across the ground like a damn pebble! We should be asking you that!_ Balto stated with incredulity.

Ryker, however wouldn't have it and looked at Aurora with a stern look.

"Are you alright?" Ryker asked as Balto continued ranting while Vulcan tried with little success to calm him down.

Aurora sighed, giving up when she realized with defeat that this was Ryker she was arguing against.

"Yes, dear, I'm fine." she told him with a reassuring smile.

Ryker smiled with relief and nodded, getting up which caused a series of cracking noises as he stretched.

 _-stubborn that one would think you have a stick up your-... What?_ Balto asked as Ryker looked at him with a challenging glance.

" _YOU_ have a mate and see if you can stand the fact of her being hurt." Ryker countered.

Balto growled and chuckled smugly.

 _Actually, I-_ Balto began but trailed off.

The others looked at him, tilting their heads with curious glances. Balto took a few steps back, fearing that they would end up with a realization. Aurora, however, was the first one to notice it.

"Don't tell me... Is Jenna..?" she asked.

Balto lowered his head whilst chuckling nervously, a small blush of shyness and embarrassment present.

 _Haha, you see, we've been wanting a kid for a while now and we don't know if we were successful yet..._ he explained.

Immediately, Ryker walked over and patted Balto on the back.

"Why didn't you tell us? Congrats." he remarked.

"Sly rascal." Vulcan muttered with a smile as Aurora walked over and hugged Balto excitedly.

"If and when she's bearing pups, let us know!" she instructed earning a nod and a small chuckle from Balto.

Ryker shook his head and sighed deeply.

"Balto a father.. I never thought the day would come so soon." he muttered to himself.

He then let the three talk amongst themselves for a while before continuing on with their mission. They walked, Ryker leading them to a fort in the distance, for a while. About half an hour passed before the finally reached the fort and stopped at the gates.

"What brings you here to Helgen?" a guard asked them.

He eyed the four, the lot of them actually changed their clothing on their way there. Ryker now had a black t-shirt and leather jacket along with dark jeans and boots. His fingerless gloves were present and the guard actually looked at them in envy as if he wanted them. Aurora had a dark blue dress with black intricate lines that hugged closely to her legs so that she could travel with no discomfort. She also had shoes meant for running though their look was modified to fit the timeline. Vulcan had the same outfit as Ryker though instead of black, he had a red jacket and he didn't have gloves. Balto was still in his wolf from, sitting like an obedient dog next to Ryker.

"We're here in hopes of gathering some supplies. We are foreigners, completely clueless of Skyrim's lands. You wouldn't know where to find a map, would you?" Ryker stated, the deliverance of his words smooth and calm.

The guard looked at the three then set his eyes on Balto who, jokingly, growled at the guard. The guard jumped back, nearly soiling his undergarments. He then nodded and stepped to the side, gesturing them in nervously.

"Go right on ahead. Maps are sold up ahead. J-J-Just keep your pet in check." he stammered.

Ryker nodded and walked in, the others following. Balto went in and turned around, growling. He smirked, plotting revenge against the guard and wanting to intentionally scare the living wits out of him.

 _I AM NO ONE'S PET._ he stated to the guard making the poor man jump in alarm.

Balto snickered and quickly left, catching up to the others before they noticed he was gone. The guard stood there, heaving and hyperventilating. He held his hand over his chest where his heart was, wondering if what he had just experienced was real or that his mind was just playing tricks on him. At that moment, Ryker snapped his head up, the others already ahead of him and didn't notice. He sniffed the air, his ears twitching as well.

 _Ash?... And..wingbeats?_

They walked around town, casually browsing small merchant shops and the like. Ryker found that the currency there was different so he summoned some gems and such from his dimensional storage when no one was looking. He then traded the gems for the local gold coins, resulting in having 500,000 gold pieces. Vulcan turned his head, his ears twitching all the while.

"Hey guys, something is happening over there. It's causing a pretty big stir." he whispered, the others turning around to see what he was talking about.

In the center of town was a tower and in front of that tower were several guards and one large burly guard with a daunting helmet. The large guard had a sharpened scythe and he stood there, completely still and silent next to a bloodstained basket. Approaching the guard was an Imperial captain who looked at some oncoming carts with glee. Ryker and the others saw that there binded men in the carts, figuring they were prisoners and the like. He then noticed one of them seemed to be radiating a... unique aura as well as emitting intense magical power.

"That's our man. The one with the dark blue hair and tattoo on his face." Ryker told them.

"Well obviously there's a problem there. How will we get to him?" Vulcan asked, watching as the prisoners walked out of the cart in single file.

They all lined up in front of the Imperial Captain who stood next to one of her officers. The officer picked up a scroll with a list of names and began talking with a somewhat sympathetic tone.

"You are all here to be sentenced to death. You should all pray to the Divines and hope they have mercy on you all...Fjord of Whiterun, step forward." he announced.

"Hmph. Might as well get it over with." a man remarked.

The man, Fjord, stepped forward with a rebellious attitude. He was thin and his face was scarred in several places. The officer looked at Fjord before nodding and gesturing to the execution site. Fjord walked to the basket and got on his knees. Two more guards held him down and he didn't resist.

"Should we help him?" Vulcan asked, unsure of the situation.

"From what I can tell, that man doesn't care. In fact, he seemed to be actually waiting for his death to happen. We'll leave him be." Ryker replied, emotionless.

The executioner raised his scythe which glinted in the sky. Some people cheered with excitement, throwing jeers and curses.

"Down with the Stormcloaks!" one shouted.

"The Legion is corrupted!" another shouted though was arrested shortly afterwards.

Fjord turned to look at the executioner with a smug smile.

"The Divines are smiling upon me. Can you say the same for you?" he mocked as the scythe came down.

Fjord's head rolled off his shoulders, blood spraying into the basket though some reached the cobblestone underneath. The head landed in the basket and the guards let go of the body, letting it limply fall to the side. They then dragged it away, tossing it into a cart.

Ryker and the others watched, each of them silent. Vulcan put his hand around his throat, uncomfortable with the sight. Some people cheered at the execution though some others remained either silent or averted their gazes.

"Foreigner! Step forth." the Captain shouted, her shrill voice piercing the atmosphere.

Ryker and the others watched with focus as Ultima stepped forth. The Captain sneered at him before motioning him to the basket ahead.

 _He's innocent. On my go, we move. Vulcan, Balto, you two take out the guards. Aurora, the archers on the roofs. I will secure our man and when I give the signal, we retreat._ Ryker instructed them, Aurora, Vulcan, and Balto tensing slightly in preparation.

Ultima walked up to the basket and got on his knees. The guards forced his head down and he inhaled deeply.

 _Time to get out of here._ he thought as he readied a spell.

A terrifying roar can be heard, the sound scaring the residents of Helgen.

"What in the blazes was that?!" a guard panicked.

"Its nothing. Just get on with the execution!" the Captain replied, really stubborn.

Ryker waited for a few more moments until all of a sudden, he spotted what he was waiting for. A distraction. He watched as a large slender dragon, scales black in color, land on the tower above the execution.

The dragon, as mentioned, had black scales that gleamed in the sunlight. It had several horns that stuck out on the sides of its head, around four on each side. On the top of its head, two more horns stuck out to the side, one on each side. The dragon had spikes trailing down its neck though they seemed to be somewhat blunted and a large tail spike tip. The most notable feature on the Dragon was that it had bright ruby eyes... something Vulcan found beautiful..

It... She.. roared at the guards, scaring them and she breathed a torrent of flames at the executioner. To make matters worse, _another_ dragon landed though this one had a hostile air to it. It had greenish-yellow scales and spikes that covered most of its body. It attacked the dragoness and tried to snap at Ultima though the dragoness shoved it away.

 _Dovakhiin! Run away while you still have the chance!_ the dragoness warned Ultima who didn't understand what she was talking about.

The dragoness continued to attack the other dragon and at that moment, Ryker motioned the others to move. Vulcan and Balto attacked the guards, the former using his greatsword while the latter tore out throats with his fangs as well as shooting beams of light. Aurora drew Hush and fired upon the archers, successfully hitting her mark with each shot. Ryker fought his way through the guards, making his way to Ultima who suddenly melted his bonds with flames. All of them noticed that the people of Helgen had a sinister corrupted air to them though they didn't voice it. Ultima then cooled down his burning hands with a cloud of ice that emitted from his hands. He was a skilled magician though Ryker hoped he could fight as well.

Ryker reached Ultima who noticed that they, including the dragoness for some reason, were trying to rescue him.

"Who are you?" Ultima asked, a ball of flames on one hand and a current of electricity in the other.

Ryker waved his hand, the flame going out and the electricity disappearing.

"All that matters is that you make it out of here alive." Ryker replied before leading Ultima down a path devoid of guards.

He fired a black fireball in the sky, serving as a signal, and the others began retreating and followed Ryker. The dragoness noticed this too and actually turned around to ensure their escape. She breathed fire and somehow summoned meteors to defeat the guards and successfully scaring the other dragon away. As she did this, more buildings collapsed though she avoided hurting the civilians.

Ryker noticed that there were guards ahead of them and changed their path, running into a watchtower. They ran up the stairs, spiraling up towards the roof. All of a sudden, a soldier bursted through the wall from _outside_ and landed with a sickening thud in front of them. Ryker looked out the newly made hole and found that there was a house below them. He looked up and found that there were guards descending the stairs.

"More behind us!" Aurora warned and Ryker finally made his decision.

He took a few steps before jumping out the side of the tower, breaking through the roof of the house below though landed safely. He looked up to see Aurora, Vulcan, and Balto do the same though Ultima remained. Ultima then seemed to snarl in defeat before jumping as well, landing with a huff onto the kitchen floor of the house.

"Let's go. There's a prison that leads to the outskirts of this place." Ryker told them.

"How do you know that?" Ultima challenged, skeptical.

Ryker pulled out a map, detailed notes written neatly on each feature. He then pointed to Helgen and traced a line leading from what seemed to be underground catacombs to outside the city. Ultima frowned but nodded and Ryker led them out. On their way, they encountered more Legionnaires and made short work of them. Ryker and the group found that Ultima was adept at hand to hand combat as well as skilled in magic. They finally neared the entrance to the prison and went inside. The dragoness noticed this and took flight, heading for the forest near the city.

Ryker looked around the corner, finding no one there. He signaled the others to follow and together, they sneaked through the prison. Balto held up the rear, turning around once every so often when he thought he caught a scent. Ryker then halted, signaling for them to do the same.

"Argh! Damn you! * _Clang!*_ " a man cursed nearby.

Ahead of them were four men, all sporting swords save for one who wore a cloak, fighting each other. Two were Stormcloaks while the other two were Legionnaires. The magician, the one on the Legionnaire side, sent two bolts of lightening at the Stormcloaks. They connected and the two Stormcloak men flew back into the wall, their bones crunching and their clothes burning.

Ryker summoned his sword and armor and charged, the magician barely noticing his presence before Ryker decapitated him. The other Legionnaire turned around in shock and charged at Ryker. However, Vulcan dispatched him by severing the man's arm from his body with his greatsword. The Legionnaire fell to the ground, crying out in agonizing pain. The group moved on, turning many corners and going through many doors. They came across a torture chamber at one point but didn't bother to avert their eyes, corpses, bloody carcasses, and bloodstained torture instruments were all over the room.

Eventually, they reached an intersection and waited for Ryker to make a decision. Ryker pointed to his left, gesturing to what wasn't even a path. Instead, it was a waterway that led to a large cave.

"This way." he told them and they followed.

The path, if one could call it that, led them to the aforementioned cave which had many walkways throughout the whole system. Ryker walked up one and spotted a few Legionnaire archers ahead.

 _Let's go around them. No need for anymore bloodshed._ he told them, surprising Ultima with his telepathy.

They went under the walkways and sneaked their way around the archers. They were doing just fine until one archer looked underneath the walkway and spotted them. Ryker immediately pulled the archer off the walkway and knocked him out silently, hiding the body behind a large rock. He then continued leading them through the cave, making their way past the archers with ease.

Eventually, they came to another part of the cave and the sound of chittering could be heard. Ultima looked up and paled, summoning icicle shards.

"Frostspiders!" he shouted as they drew their weapons.

Large blue spiders, the size of cars, lowered themselves to the ground. One of them shot venom from its fangs at Balto but the wolf quickly dodged it. The group attacked the large insects, taking them down one by one. They found it easier to use elemental attacks and attack them that way so by the end of the short battle, there were charred or frozen spider corpses all around them. Ryker looked up and spotted a large eggsack that repeatedly buldged with movement. He figured that it contained millions, billions even, of baby spiders within. Ultima noticed this as well and burnt the eggsack with a fireball, destroying it and everything inside immediately.

"I rather not have one of those in my home." Aurora joked, earning light laughter from them all.

They walked further, finally hearing what sounded like a waterfall nearby. Ultima was first to spot it and pointed at it.

"There! The way out!" he told them excitedly as they all neared it.

They went through the waterfall and stepped outside, seeing a large forest ahead of them and a smoke stack in the sky, giving away that there was a village nearby. Ultima plopped down onto a rock to rest and they did the same, all of them catching a breather.

"Who are you people?" Ultima finally asked.

"We are travelers looking for the Dragonborn. We thought it would be you but that dragon confirmed it." Vulcan answered.

Aurora gave him a look of warning, silently reminding him of Jeanne's instructions.

 _The dragoness earlier already spilled the beans. Might as well tell the truth._ he privately told her.

"Dragonborn? You mean the one from the legends?" Ultima asked, receiving nods from the group.

"I'm Vulcan, my sister over there is Aurora, and my older brother is Alpha. We're all here to help you including Balto over here." Vulcan introduced whilst gesturing to each of them.

Ultima looked at Balto with skepticism, chuckling with amusement.

"You mean the mutt?" he asked rather rudely.

 _Hey, you little bastard. We just saved your sorry little ass so you better appreciate it!_ Balto told him whilst growling, shocking Ultima.

Balto them padded up to Ultima and batted the man's nose.

 _And I'm a wolf, not a mutt._ he added before sitting back down.

They sat in awkward silence for a while and next thing they knew, the dragoness from earlier landed a few feet away though her appearance was somewhat smaller. Ultima got up and became defensive though wondered why the others didn't.

 _Greetings, Dovakhiin, I'm glad to see you made it out alright._ she told him in a somewhat motherly voice.

Vulcan's heart nearly stopped, her voice was so beautiful to him and her eyes were so alluring. He noticed her slender form and her many curves. Ryker noticed this and picked up a pebble, flicking it at Vulcan's forehead which caused the younger Fenrir to fall backwards.

"You alright over there, brother?" Ryker asked, hiding his amusement.

Vulcan got up grumbling with a blush, nodding to the question. Ryker then nodded at the dragoness with a small smile.

"Thank you for helping us, esteemed one." he told her with a bow.

The dragoness wasn't used to formality and had to think for a moment before replying.

 _Of course. Though it is my duty to protect the Dovakhiin. My name is Alduinera, the "World Eater" as the people of Skyrim call me._

They sensed no ill-intent from her and wondered what earned her such a title. However they dismissed it as Alduinera padded up to Ultima and bowed.

 _It was fortunate that I was able to make it in time before one of Graysheor's dragon minions get to you first._ she added.

"...This is going to take some getting used to." Ultima remarked.

 **An hour later...**

"So because you can summon meteors, they call you "World Eater"...They fear you?" Vulcan asked Alduinera.

They were walking through the forest, Ultima advised them to go to Whiterun and warn the Jarl. Ryker and Aurora were leading them with Balto holding up the rear again. Ultima was behind Ryker and Aurora and behind Ultima were Vulcan and Alduinera.

 _That sounds about right. So, that is an interesting weapon you got there._ Alduinera replied, looking at Vulcan's greatsword with curiosity.

Vulcan smiled and drew it with a somewhat exaggerated motion.

"It's name is Reaper. I had it for a while now."

They continued to talk excitedly between each other and Balto noticed this with amusement.

 _You seeing this, Ryker? Aurora?_ he asked them privately.

Ryker simply gave a thumbs up and Aurora just giggled to herself. Balto laughed to himself as well and continued to follow them through the forest. They walked for a good while, coming across a village that seemed quite and calm compared to Helgen. Outside the village whilst out of sight, Alduinera said she had a human form and transformed into it.

She had long black hair though, unlike Aurora's, it only reached down to her thighs. Alduinera was fair skinned and was only 5'11". She wore a silver dress that was made for traveling like Aurora's and her eyes shined bright red with brilliance. Her...chest size was large, being around DD in size.

"Did I miss a spot?" she asked, turning and looking at herself.

Vulcan tried his very best not to drool at the sight. Yes, to him she was beautiful in her dragon form as well but both forms radiated their own unique beauty. Vulcan shook his head, making sure he was looking only at her face.

"No...You didn't miss a spot." he told her, receiving a delighted and satisfied look in response from Alduinera.

They walked into the village and began looking around for things that may prove useful on their journey. Ryker found a map of all the caves and civilizations of the land. Aurora and Alduinera both bought some rare tonics like poison resistance and such. Vulcan and Ultima found some magical grenades, set to explode in an electrical flash when thrown. Balto walked around town and listen to conversations, both in hopes to find something interesting and to try and find clues about the "sinister evil" they were going to fight. Eventually, they left the village without a hitch, successfully avoiding fights or attracting much attention.

They continued walking down a path that led to Whiterun from the village. Along the way, they encountered some bandits though made short work of them. After dispatching the bandits, they found that there was a caged wolf on the side of the road. Ryker released it and what happened next happened so unexpectedly that they weren't able to react correctly.

The wolf stood up on its hind legs and put its fore paws on Ryker's shoulders. The wolf then licked Ryker's face and padded away, its pup running up to it and embracing it.

 _Thank you, Lord Alpha._ the she-wolf told them before running off with its pup which ran up to Ryker and nuzzled him before leaving.

The group was silent, Aurora furious that another female regarded Ryker in such a manner. She grabbed Ryker's hand and smiled at him, making him feel uneasy.

 _What is this? Wait? I haven't felt this in a while... Fear?_ Ryker thought to himself as Aurora gave him the scariest of smiles.

"We need to talk later, alright?" she told him.

Ryker paled and nodded, not even having a clue to what he had done wrong.

"Yeah! Of course! Later, right!" he quickly replied as she stomped passed him.

They remained silent as Aurora continued to silently plot to herself as she walked off. Ryker looked at the others who were just as clueless as he was.

"What the hell just happened? And why did that wolf lick you?" Ultima asked.

At that moment, Vulcan and Balto laughed to themselves leaving Alduinera and Ultima still confused. Ryker simply shot a glare in their direction and the two fell quiet once more.

As they neared Whiterun, they came across a group of warriors fighting off a giant. The giant had a large club and it was stained with small blotches of blood. Aurora spotted a bleeding man leaning against a tree and nudged Ryker.

"They need help!" she told them before the group went in action.

As Ryker and the group attacked, the other group of warriors retreated and watched with amazement as the giant began to whittle down.

Balto ran up to the giant and bit down really hard on its tendons, making the giant roar out in pain. The giant raised a hand and balled it into a fist, intending to crush Balto who fired a beam of Light to counter the attack. The giant reared back its hand in pain as Vulcan ran up to it and swung Reaper at its other foot, severing the tendons like Balto but also stabbing the top surface of the foot, resulting in the giant getting on its knees. Alduinera was standing at the tree line firing purple-red fireballs at the giant, scorching the hands to prevent it from using the club again. Aurora fired several arrows at the giant, hitting her mark at its chest, legs, and finally, the eyes which rendered it blind.

"Now!" Aurora signaled, looking up to see Ryker jumping onto the giants leg.

At that moment, the giant got up and began to flail randomly, nearly knocking them away. Ryker held on to its belt on its tunic for a secure hold to prevent from falling off. He then pulled himself up with one arm and swung himself onto the giant's shoulders. Finally, Ryker stabbed his sword into the back of its neck, earning an agonized scream from the towering humanoid. The giant fell to its knees again although this time, simply without resistance. Ryker jumped off of it before the giant finally landed on its stomach with a groan. After a few moments, the giant ceased breathing and the group relaxed, putting away their weapons.

"That was some mighty show just now!" a man hollered to them.

They turned around to find the group of warriors that needed their help. Instantly, Ryker's nose twitched and he became wary of them. There was the man that shouted to them, another man, and a woman who was smiling all the while.

 _Their scents..Almost like...canine?...They're not human for sure._ Ryker thought to himself, turning to the group.

Aurora, Vulcan, and Balto had the same wary look as he did. They made eye contact with him and he nodded slowly, earning small nods of agreement from then.

"My name is Vilkas of the Companions. Thank you for your help." the man announced.

He had somewhat long black hair that reached his shoulders. His face, specifically his eye areas, were covered with black war paint that seemed in the sunlight. He was light-skinned, having heavy bronze armor on as well as a large greatsword sheathed on his back. He was that very tall, being only 5'10" though he had a heavy muscular build.

Vilkas extended his hand, Ryker hiding his reluctance and shook it.

"No problem. We were just on our way to Whiterun hoping to get an audience with the Jarl." Ryker replied.

Vilkas looked surprised and cocked his head to the side.

"For whatever reason?"

Ryker wanted to leave, even though they were not hostile, he didn't want to get caught up in whatever the Companions were in.

"There was a dragon attack at Helgen. One of Graysheor's minions, whoever he is." Ryker replied, the group looking at Alduinera who completely forgot to explain about whoever Graysheor was.

Vilkas looked horrified and pointed to the castle that rested on a hill behind Whiterun.

"I'm sure the Jarl would lend his ear. Come, I'll lead you to Whiterun and from there, I'll order a guard to escort you all to Dragonsreach."

Ryker figured Dragonsreach was the name of the castle and nodded, the group following the Companions to the town. Along the way, the woman walked beside of Ryker and gave him a smile.

"My name is Aeola, a huntress. My friend over there is Farkas, Vilkas's older brother. May I ask you of your name?" she queried.

Ryker figured that there was no way of getting through the land without introductions and decided to just humor her.

"My name is Alpha and it's a pleasure to be of your acquaintance." he replied.

Aeola widened her eyes and shivered for some reason, the other two shivered as well. The others noticed this though decided not to question it. The larger man who actually resembled Vilkas though he didn't have any face paint, Farkas, walked up to them and gave the rest of them a look.

"My name is Aurora, Alpha's partner." Aurora stated with a hidden emphasis on "partner" of which Aeola caught but ignored.

"I go by Vulcan and I'm Alpha's younger brother." Vulcan announced.

"I'm Alduinera, the Dovakhiin's bodyguard." Alduinera stated and earned looks of surprise from the Companions.

"Dovakhiin? Isn't that the Dragonborn? Which one of you is it?" Aeola asked, secretly hoping it was Ryker who sighed as he caught the stray thought.

Ultima raised his hand and lowered it when they looked at him.

"I'm him. My name is Ultima and the dragon at Helgen was after me on Graysheor's orders." he informed.

"Ok. The Jarl will definitely lend his ear now. Maybe the Greybeards too." Vilkas muttered though whispered to himself the last statement.

They reached Whiterun and Vilkas led them through the gates. Apparently, the Companions had a high and respected reputation in Whiterun so the guards didn't question their actions. Vilkas called a guard over and gestured to Dragonsreach.

"Escort them to Dragonsreach and make sure they get an audience with Jarl Balgruuf." Vilkas instructed as the guard nodded.

Before they left, Aeola grabbed Ryker's shoulder and pointed to a large circular building nearby on a hill. Above and behind it, smoke rose and sounds of metal banging against metal came from what seemed like a forge atop the path.

"Whenever you have the time, you should join the Companions. We would be happy to welcome you. Kodlak too." she offered, not noticing Aurora's glare.

Vilkas and Farkas nodded in agreement to Aeola before the three of them walked to their headquarters, leaving Ryker and the group with the guard who began leading them to Dragonsreach. They walked up a large set of stone stairs which led to a drawbridge. They crossed it and stopped in front of large double doors of the castle.

 **Ten or so minutes later after waiting...**

"What brings you here, travelers?" Jarl Balgruuf questioned.

He was an aging man, being in his sixties or so. He had regal clothing on and a golden crown atop his head. A large sword was sheathed and placed next to his leg and a shield with the image of a horse hung on the wall behind him.

Ryker took a step forward and bowed his head a little.

"We've come to warn you of the dragon attack at Helgen, my liege." he answered.

Balgruuf shifted uncomfortably in his throne, obviously disliking the news.

"So the rumors I heard from the city guards were true then?"

Ryker nodded, reminding himself to use the same dialect as the people of Skyrim did to avoid suspicion and threw an accent in his voice.

"Aye. We've also brought with us, the Dragonborn. Methinks the dragon was after him, indeed." Ryker replied, surprising his companions with his flawless voice change and accent.

Balgruuf arched an eyebrow and looked at who Ryker was gesturing to, seeing Ultima who got on one knee in respect.

"Dragonborn? And how will we know if you are telling the truth?" Balgruuf questioned.

A guard ran up to the Jarl in panic, a slash mark on his back.

"My liege! There is a dragon outside the city!" he stammered before passing out from loss of blood.

Balgruuf ordered for the guard to be tended to and taken home and looked at Ultima with a challenging smile.

"Get rid of that rampaging dragon and we'll talk." he responded.

Later, they found that the dragon outside the city was the same dragon from Helgen and fought it. It was near a watchtower and it was a challenging battle indeed. However, they didn't fight it alone. A Dunmer, a gray-skinned woman with red-orange hair, helped them fight the dragon and in the end, they ended up slaying it. What happened next shocked them greatly save for Alduinera.

As the dragon died, it snarled Ultima in its native tongue.

 _Ni mindoraan..._ the dragon grasped before it breathed no more.

 _"I don't understand."_ Alduinera privately translated for them save for the Dunmer.

All of a sudden, the dragon's body began burning with a bright orange flash. Its essence then propelled forward to Ultima who widened his eyes as his body absorbed it. He then suddenly turned to the side and opened his mouth.

 _"Fus!"_ he Shouted, sending a powerful shockwave that hurled boulders into the air.

The others looked at him with wonder and Alduinera stepped forth with a smile.

"You just learned a Shout, something in the dragon language." she explained as Ultima began freaking out...

"And that Shout proves that he is the Dragonborn." the Dunmer, Irileth, told Balgruuf who was fascinated by her tale.

Apparently, Irileth was housecarl to the Jarl and was very respected in Whiterun. Balgruuf, now serious due to Irileth's recounting of what happened an hour before, looked at Ultima.

"Can you demonstrate your abilities to me, Dragonborn?" he asked and Ultima stepped forth.

Ultima faced the burning chimney and opened his mouth, taking a deep breath.

" _Fus!"_ he Shouted, sending a small shockwave that blew out the fire and shifted the logs.

At that moment, an ethereal voice shouted at Ultima.

" _Dovakhiin!"_ the male voice shouted as if he was from everywhere.

Apparently, everyone heard it and it surprised them to no end. Balgruuf, now excited, got up and walked up to Ultima and placed a hand on the Dragonborn's shoulder.

"My! Even the Greybeards are calling you! You should heed their call and venture to The Throat of the World to see them." the Jarl suggested.

Ultima nodded and the Jarl made a few more announcements before they left. He made Ultima Thane of the town and gave him a free house to live in. He gave a free house to Ryker and the group as well, feeling generous and such. When they left, Aurora turned to Ultima.

"What's The Throat of the World?" she asked, earning a finger pointed at a large formidable mountain in the distance.

"It's the largest mountain in Skyrim. The Greybeards, holy men who speak in dragon tongue and worship dragons, live near the summit." Ultima responded with a groan.

 _Well you got a ways to go, buddy. Better get hiking._ Balto teased, knowing full well that all of them will end up going anyway.

"Hey, you're coming with aren't you?" Ultima asked.

"Actually," Ryker commented in his normal voice and accent, " this is your destiny and I think it should be you alone to meet the Greybeards. After all, they called for _you_ didn't they?"

Ultima hung his head, defeated and started muttering something about walking up a thousand steps.

"Well, I might as well make the trip today since we still got hours of daylight." muttered, waving to them before he ran off.

Vulcan looked at Alduinera with a questioning expression.

"I thought you have to protect him." he queried.

"Only if he calls me or if there's a dragon nearby." Alduinera replied nonchalantly.

They walked down Whiterun, looking for the house that fit the description Balgruuf told them. They eventually found their housing for the while. It was a large house, being two-stories tall. Ryker fished out the key they were given and unlocked the door, walking inside. They explored the house, it was very nicely decorated and furnished. The furniture was of luxury level and there was a lot of space in the living room. In total, the house had four rooms, each having a bathroom.

"I call bottom floor room!" Alduinera piped up before pointing to a room down a hallway.

She then nudged Vulcan with a smile.

"Which room are you choosing?" she asked with curiosity.

"I guess the room across from yours." Vulcan replied, noticing her downcast look.

"Or I'll sleep upstairs?" he offered though earned a shake of the head from Alduinera.

"It's not that. You see, I actually hate sleeping alone and I have been for as long as I can remember. Since the bed in there was pretty big..." she explained with nervousness, a blush appearing on her face.

Ryker and Aurora looked with amusement as Vulcan began choking on his words, stammering all the while. Alduinera seemed to be the only one of the two to actually form words.

"I mean, I feel super comfortable around you and I wouldn't mind if you were sleeping in the same room as me." she added, a tear escaping her eye for fear that she was going to be alone again.

Vulcan saw this and calmed himself, smiling with a nervous look on his face.

"It's cool. If you want me to then I will. Just don't cry, alright?" he replied, swallowing the lump in his throat.

At that moment, Alduinera squealed in happiness and hugged him, grabbing his arm and dragging him out the door.

"Come on! We got to get some food and some more things to decorate the room with!" she announced excitedly as she dragged him to who knows where. Balto chuckled as he looked at Ryker and Aurora with a smile.

 _I'm going to go for a run. You know, a workout. I'll be back by tonight._ he announced before running out the door.

The door closed when they left and Aurora looked at Ryker with a laugh.

"I think he has a shot with her. Well, depending on how she would take the fact that he's a Fenrir." she told Ryker who chuckled as well.

"Who knows? You gave me a chance and are still by my side after finding out I'm a Fenrir." Ryker responded which caused Aurora to frown.

"Speaking of, we need to talk. Upstairs. Now." she told him before going upstairs.

Ryker instantly became nervous and followed her up and into a room. Inside, it was a pretty large room with a queen-sized bed and a bathroom as well. There was a window too but it was closed and covered by a curtain. Aurora walked over to the bed which smelled brand-new...it most likely was.

Aurora sat on the bed and look at Ryker with crossed arms and a frown. She glared at him and gestured for him to sit next to her. Ryker ducked his head and quickly walked over and sat on a bed, resembling that of a wolf caught of a heinous act.

"How come, almost everywhere we go, either on quests or around Kanto, women are always swarming you? Even the she-wolf back there on the road gave you a kiss!" Aurora pouted, giving him an angry look.

Ryker paled and threw up his hands in defense, wishing she would calm down.

"Look, it just happens and as for the she-wolf, she was only glad that I saved her so she could be with her pup. She also recognized my true identity and when she kissed me, it was only out of gratitude. There was no sensual love or anything there." he informed her though she didn't calm down.

"Oh yeah? What about that huntress earlier? What's the deal with that? Are you just purposely charming females everywhere you go? Am I insufficient for your love?" Aurora shot back, tears threatening to pour.

Aurora pouted and turned around, refusing to look at him. However, she heard a low growl from Ryker and turned to see that he was angry...furious actually.

"What. Did. You. Just. Say?" Ryker asked, his sclera turning black and his voice very angry and threatening.

 **Ryker "The Alpha" Fang, 27, Fenrir, male**

 **Aurora North, 27, Islingr Suicune, female**

 **Vulcan Fang, 24, Fenrir, male**

 **Ultima, 26, human/Dragonborn, male**

 **Alduinera, 24, dragoness, female**

 **Aeola the Huntress, 25, human, female**

 **Vilkas, 26, human, male**

 **Farkas, 28, human, male**


	20. Chapter 4 (DR)

_**"As I watch him walk,**_

 _ **His muscles bulge under that cover of fur.**_

 _ **His chin and his attention ,**_

 _ **Directed ahead .**_

 _ **He is a powerful one and all can see it,**_

 _ **That is why he is our Alpha.**_

 _ **To protect us and keep us in line,**_

 _ **yet, he seemed to be extremely lonely,**_

 _ **But that has changed already.**_

 _ **He gave me a chance and I him,**_

 _ **To win his heart and for him to win mine.**_

 _ **We danced at midnight and dined happily,**_

 _ **With time and love we became mates.**_

 _ **He is The Alpha,**_

 _ **He is my Alpha. "**_

 **Chapter 4: Trials**

"What. Did. You. Just. Say?" Ryker asked, his sclera turning black and his voice very angry and threatening.

Aurora backed away further onto the bed, afraid and somewhat shaking. However, she didn't step down so she gathered her courage and growled.

"You heard me, Ryker. Why not become the "Alpha" for all women you come across?" she shot back.

Ryker growled again and clenched his fist, slamming it down on the bed frame and splintering it.

"Aurora, you know damn well that I love you and only you. No other women come across my mind like that because of you." he replied with frustration.

Aurora actually knew he was telling the truth but gave him a skeptical look.

"Is that so? Well you're certainly not showing it." she pouted.

Ryker noticed the change in her demeanor and decided to play along. He growled and pinned Aurora to the bed got close to her face.

"Really? The gifts I get you, the dates I take you out on.. All that isn't enough?" he asked as Aurora shook her head.

"Obviously not. It's not just material objects that will completely sway my heart, you know." she countered, glaring at him.

Ryker glared back at her, his fangs now more apparent and his eyes now dilated with instinct.

"Well you wanted me to prove my love... You. Will. Get. It!" he replied in a husky voice, baring his teeth as he went for her neck.

Aurora closed her eyes, actually thinking he was going to tear her throat out. She then berated herself for thinking such a thing. However, all of her thoughts melted away as Ryker bit down on her neck, with force though not enough to break skin. Aurora couldn't help but to moan inwardly at the act. Ryker applied suction to the spot, making Aurora to somewhat spasm and wrap her arms around him. She then recovered, growling and grabbing him. She flipped him over and she was now on top of him, glaring at him. She grabbed his face and kissed him ferociously, their tongues battling for dominance as well as exploring their opposite mouths. Ryker hit a sensitive spot in Aurora's mouth with the flat of his tongue, earning a small moan from Aurora. He then separated himself from her and licked at the spot he bit her on her neck. Aurora began to lose control of her breathing, her breaths coming out in short buffs.

"Is that all you got? This is nothing." she challenge, making Ryker stop his act.

He looked at her and gave her a glare before pinning her once more on the bed. He grabbed her dress and took it off of her in one fluid movement, leaving her in only her bra and panties. Ryker took a moment to take in the sight of his lover before taking a deep breath, the scents overwhelming his senses. Ryker then trailed his tongue down from Aurora's neck, making her shiver in anticipation. He reached her chest and removed her bra, Aurora removing his jacket and shirt as well. Ryker saw that she was beginning to get submissive so he immediately latched on to one of her breasts, suckling on a nipple like a newborn pup. Aurora wrapped an arm around him and moaned into his ear, Ryker instantly upping his efforts. As he sucked, he swirled his tongue around the bud, flicking it in random directions as well as applying more force to his suckling every now and them. With his other hand, he massaged Aurora's other breast and pinched her nipple every once in a while.

Aurora slightly arched her back from the pleasure, a small dribble of saliva hung from her tongue. Ryker then switched breasts and began to work on the other one as he fondled the finished one. Aurora noticed that other than when he was in a good mood, this was his only playful side. However, she also noticed that he was aggressive and dominant at the same time. As Ryker redoubled his efforts, Aurora gripped the blankets below, her knuckles slightly revealing the bones underneath.

Ryker stopped his attention on her chest and trailed more kisses down her stomach, making her feel like there were small butterflies in her abdomen. Ryker continued to do so until he reached her crotch. He stopped, giving her a teasing look. Aurora gave him a glare which received a false look of confusion from Ryker who suddenly began trailing his tongue around the area. His tongue was following the edges of her panties though going no further. This simple act made Aurora shiver and she knew she was losing. She looked to see that Ryker had stopped and was currently, and slowly, taking her underwear off. When he did so, her scent attacked his nostrils, filling them with a sweet, almost fruity though alluring aroma. Ryker exhaled, his breath assaulting Aurora's womanhood and making her shiver. He then inched his face closer and closer to her sex, giving her a final look of confirmation before taking a lick. Aurora moaned as his tongue rubbed against her inner walls, producing more of her juices with each lick. Ryker made sure he covered every inch of her insides, swirling his tongue around every spot like a mop. He lapped at her juices as he pleasured her, tasting her and comically rehydrating himself. Ryker then focused on her clitoris, circling it with his tongue before dragging his tongue across it.

Aurora moaned as he did this and nearly jolted in surprise as he stuck a single finger inside her cavern, thrusting it slowly into her. Aurora could barely handle the dual pleasure, her walls squeezing onto Ryker's finger as he thrusted. Ryker then lightly suckled on Aurora's love button, making her cry out in pleasure.

"Y-Y-You. W-Win... " she managed to say to him.

Ryker inwardly chuckled at this and rewarded her by inserting a second finger into her womanhood, Aurora holding his head as well as clenching her teeth as he assaulted her.

"Too... much.." she moaned though thrusted her hips into Ryker's face as well as humping his fingers.

At this, Ryker upped his efforts again and began servicing her furiously. He lashed his tongue across her walls and love button, suckling every now and then. He then thrusted his fingers at a fast pace, sometimes replacing them with his tongue which earned more moans from Aurora.

"R-R-Ryker! I'm getting r-r-really close!" she moaned, hugging onto his head.

Ryker heard this and unleashed mayhem into her cavern, licking and thrusting his fingers and tongue everywhere. He suckled every spot possible in her and made sure all areas inside of her received attention. He then hit a special spot inside her cavern, making her cry out as she orgasmed, hard, into his mouth.

"AHHHHH!" she exclaimed as she climaxed, clutching the bed with a vice grip.

Ryker lapped up her love juices, making sure none of it escaped his maw. As he did this, the simple act allowed her climax last longer and gave her small shocks of pleasure to her somewhat sensitive sex. When Ryker finished, Aurora looked to see that his pupils were still dilated but she knew he still was very in control.

"Now.. to.. return.. the favor." she panted.

"Wait. What?" Ryker asked, his pupils returning to normal.

He then exclaimed in surprise as Aurora flipped their positions and began undoing his pants. She threw his pants to the floor and removed his boxers, revealing his manhood which was fully erect. Aurora blushed, remembering the last time she handled it. She nearly squeezed the life out of it last time which gave her the determination to do better. Ryker was about to say something but his words hung silently as Aurora licked his member from the base up. She felt every vein, bump, and ridge under her tongue. She licked it in a rotating style, trailing her tongue in circles around the rod.

Ryker couldn't believe the pleasure he was receiving and couldn't help but to lightly grab Aurora's head. Aurora smiled at this and made sure she paid attention to his orbs as well, suckling them in her mouth and rolling them around with her tongue. She then returned her attention to his shaft, massaging it with her hands at the same time.

"A-Aurora.. You d-don't n-need to.. " Ryker groaned with difficulty.

Aurora rolled her eyes, knowing that Ryker loves her and that he wishes for only him to pleasure her. What's the point of a relationship if only one of the two contributed? She knew that he loved her though and in return, she him.

 _Just enjoy it, love. Besides, I WANT to._ she replied as she suckled on the tip of his member.

Ryker groaned as a small drop of pre escaped his organ, Aurora actually curious of it. She gave it an experimental lick, finding it to be slightly salty though with a semisweet aftertaste. She found that she liked the taste and licked all around the head of his member, trying to coax more of it out. As she did this, Ryker threw back his head and looked at the ceiling, trying to comprehend the immense pleasure he was receiving.

 _3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510582097494459230781640628620899862803482534211706798214808651328230664709384460955058223172535940812848111745028410270193852110555964462294895493038196442881097566593344612847564823378678316527120190914564856692346034861045432664821339360726024914127372458700660631558817488152092096282925409171536436789259036001133053054882046652138414695194151160943305727036575959195309218611738193261179310511854807446237996274956735188575272489122793818301194912983367336244065664308602139494639522473719070217986094370277053921717629317675238467481846766940513200056812714526356082778577134275778960917363717872146844090122495343014654958537105079227968925892354201995611212902196086403441815981362977477130996051870721134999999837297804995105973173281609631859502445945534690830264252230825334468503526193118817101000313783875288658753320838142061717766914730359825349042875546873115956286388235378759375195778185778053217122680661300192787661119590921642019..._ he thought to himself to calm down.

He then looked at Aurora just in time to see her engulf his member, feeling her tongue and the back of her throat.

"Aurora!" he said with alarm as he reached out to her with a hand.

Aurora, however, laughed and the vibration and movement of her mouth caused Ryker to fall back on the bed, immobile by the pleasure. Aurora had no intention on deep-throating the whole member, knowing full well that it could choke her. Though she succeeded in engulfing most of it, leaving only a few inches left. Aurora closed her mouth around Ryker's rod and began bobbing her head, using her tongue and the roof of her mouth to massage it at the same time as well as sucking on it with every bob. She grabbed the remaining few inches with her other hand and began pumping it, feeling the member become warmer in her throat, mouth, and palm. Aurora was new to this, yes, and they did it only once before but it didn't include oral.. well, from her. However, what she didn't know was that to him, she was doing it very skillfully and expertly when in reality, she was just experimenting...not that she was a slut or anything.

With her other free hand, and she glared at Ryker in revenge as she did this, she cupped his family jewels in her hand and began gently massaging them. Ryker groaned and tried to recompose himself but found that he couldn't. Instead, his instincts took over his body and he began thrusting slowly and gently into Aurora's mouth, surprising her.

 _Looks like I finally did it._ she thought to herself as she looked at his eyes.

The pupils were the widest she ever seen them though a small glint in the back of them told her that Ryker was still conscious and in little control over himself.

At one point, she bobbed her head too far down his member as he thrusted in her mouth, making her gag a little and withdraw quickly. This snapped Ryker back to control and he pulled out of her in concern.

"Aurora! Are you alright?! I'm so sorry!" he panicked, suddenly loathing himself.

Aurora felt the concern he felt and was a bit surprised at his self loathing and nodded, shocking him by smiling warmly before returning her attention to his member.

 _It's alright. We just need to be in a little more control of ourselves._ she told him as she returned to the things she did previously.

Ryker grunted and relaxed, making sure his instincts were in check.

"Just.. take it.. slow.. when you need.. to." he managed to say.

Aurora felt a twitching motion from Ryker's member and doubled her efforts, bobbing her head, squeezing her mouth around it, massaging it with her tongue and the roof of her mouth, suckling it furiously, purposely gagging her throat, and rolling his orbs with her hand as well as pumping the remaining inches of his rod. Ryker widened his eyes as he felt the overwhelming pleasure of her movements and nearly pulled out of her in surprise.

"A-A-Aurora! I'm about to-argh!" he warned her as he began to thrust slowly again into her mouth.

Aurora blushed but giggled in his mind and sucked on his rod with great force, sending him over the edge. Ryker came in strong jets, hitting the back of her throat with his warm essence. Aurora was surprised as he came in copious amounts, already filling her mouth to the brim. Aurora swallowed with her throat though Ryker was still climaxing. She decided to help him out by milking him for every drop, suckling around the tip. As this lasted for a a few more seconds, Ryker felt his climax settling down. The stream stopped and Aurora swallowed the last bit of his essence and made sure she got every drop of it. She licked her lips and made sure there was none on her face before giving Ryker a look who, in return, was panting on the bed.

"That. Was. Amazing." he managed to say earning a giggle from Aurora.

She climbed into him and they kissed, Ryker having no problem with the fact that his seed was just in her mouth. Whatever liquid she touches or drinks almost instantly gets purified anyway and as he kissed her, he didn't smell nor did he taste anything off. Aurora moaned into his mouth as their crotches grinded against each other. She looked at Ryker to see him giving her a look of permission, Aurora nodded and she buried her face into the crook of his neck as he entered her. Ryker, knowing that her hymen was already gone, started thrusting into her at a quick though lasting pace. His member rubbed against her inner walls and poked at her most sensitive spots, making her pant and stick her tongue out to the side as if she was still in one of her bestial forms. She hugged Ryker's waist as he began to pick up the speed. The sounds of skin smacking against skin filled the room and Ryker's grunts as well as Aurora's moans could be heard.

Aurora shifted and Ryker was now on top of her, dominating her with small growls. Aurora simply laid back and moaned, thrusting her hips to meet his whenever he thrusted. Aurora wrapped her legs around his waist, allowing for deeper reach within her. She also tensed her hips, adding more pressure to the squeezing, milking, and massaging movements of her womanhood. Ryker grunted at this and hugged her to him, lifting her off the bed. Their lovemaking caused the bedframe to slam against the wall and the floor to creak with every movement. Ryker leaned in to Aurora's ear and whispered to her, his voice husky and his words laced with love and passion.

"Do you still believe I'm going after other woman?" he asked as he slowed his pace a little.

"No." Aurora squeaked, a little ashamed that she thought he was in the first place.

"You know I love you with my whole being, right?"

"Yes, I do."

"And you know I will never feel this way towards others? That I will never try anything? Flirt and the like?"

Aurora teared up, averting her gaze from him.

"Yes, I do! I'm sorry, Ryker! I should know better and I should never have doubted you nor will I ever again!" she cried as Ryker rubbed her shoulders reassuringly.

Ryker kissed her face and stroked her hair lovingly, coaxing her to look at him. When she did so, he smiled and kissed her lips before leaning in and whispering to her once more.

"Then with that knowledge, enjoy this moment with me with your entirety." he huskily whispered, sending a shiver down her spine.

He then suddenly thrusting into her with great speed, making sure his member rubbed up and hit against every spot inside of her. Aurora cried tears of happiness whilst moaning to him, calling out his name and embracing her Alpha. Ryker's hips became a blur, thrusting with blinding speed and beginning to send her over the edge. Aurora cried out again, this time with shock and in pleasure as she felt him skillfully hit her special spot with every thrust. This was what lovers do, this was how it was supposed to feel. This was Aurora and her mate, Ryker, The Alpha.

Aurora felt her climax nearing and rubbed her face against Ryker's neck, signaling to him. Ryker got the message and began pounding into her, sending her juices onto the bed and nearly putting cracks in the wall with the bedframe. He looked at her and she him. They stared in each other's eyes for a moment before kissing again, Aurora reaching her climax.

"RYKER!" she moaned in ecstasy, covering both of their waists in her sex fluids.

Ryker continued to thrust into her, helping her ride out her orgasm which lasted for about a minute or so before he felt he was near as well. Ryker then slammed into her one final time, grunting as well as calling out her name as his seed entered her cavern. Aurora moaned in delight as she felt his warm essence fill her and reach her womb. She then felt it overflow and wondered how the sheets of the bed was looking at that moment.

"I love you, Aurora, never forget that." Ryker panted, fatigue taking over his body.

"And I love you, Ryker and I will be by your side forever and always." Aurora replied with tears.

Ryker grabbed her hands and squeezed them, laying down next to her and embracing her.

"Forever and always." he stated, sleep beginning to take him.

Aurora smiled and snuggled closer to him, grateful for his body warmth. She soon fell asleep with him still inside of her. Ryker used his flames and deodorized the room before falling asleep as well but not before mentally locking the door.

 **With Vulcan and Alduinera, a few hours later...**

After they dropped off their things at the house, Vulcan and Alduinera went for a small walk around town, making note of the many friendly people and services. They found an inn and went inside, finding that it was somewhat full.

"There's a spot." Vulcan stated before leading her to a booth and sitting down.

Alduinera sat across from him and smiled as a waiter walked up to them.

"What would you like today?" the man grunted with a small smile.

"Whatever sells the most around here." Alduinera replied, looking at Vulcan.

"Same, please." Vulcan answered, the waiter nodding before walking away.

"This place is nice, isn't it?" Alduinera asked with a small laugh.

"It is actually. The music is nice too." he replied, looking at the bards in the center of the large inn.

They continued to talk to each other, mainly about themselves and their likes or dislikes. Soon, their drinks came and Vulcan, much to Alduinera's disagreement, paid for them. The waiter thanked them and left, leaving the two by themselves.

"You know, I got my own money too." she told him with a small frown.

"It's fine, really. Though, now that I think about it, a lot of the things I see here in Skyrim are pretty cheap." Vulcan replied.

"Well, Helgen is the only place you've been to. There's other places around Skyrim where the prices are ridiculously high." the dragoness in disguise retorted.

Vulcan shrugged and took a sip from his drink, finding it somewhat too strong for him. He looked at Alduinera who smiled since she thought the same thing, the both of them taking small sips at a time.

"So, you certainly don't seem like your average warrior with magic spells." Alduinera commented, giving him a wink.

"And what do you mean by that?" Vulcan shot back, arching an eyebrow.

"Well for starters, you don't mutter an incantation before firing of fire or dark spells."

Vulcan tried to come up with an excuse though found that he had none.

"And your brother is the same way except he's a bit...scary. Anyways, same goes for Aurora too. Also, I noticed that you, your brother, Balto except that his case is obvious, and Aurora give off foreign auras. What's up with that?" she added.

Vulcan remained silent, taking another sip of his drink which was nearly gone already. Alduinera's cup was the same way. He then got up and began to walk out of the inn, Alduinera surprised and following him.

"Wait! Did I offend you in some way?" she asked as they turned a corner.

They ended up being in an abandoned part of the town where Vulcan found that no one was near. He looked around and sniffed the air, finding that it was safe. He then turned around and looked at Alduinera to see a confused look on her face.

"You're wondering why? I'll show you." he replied before transforming.

Alduinera took a step back in surprised as she looked at Vulcan who was now in his **Altered Form,** his crimson fur shined in the sunlight. Alduinera tried to find words but couldn't and could only look in astonishment at Vulcan.

 _I am a Fenrir, one of two remaining in existence. I am a wolf of flames and darkness and as you can see, I have wings. My brother is the other remaining Fenrir though his appearance is much more terrifying and he's much more powerful than the rest of us. Like you, we are immortal though we are only in our twenties. I'm only twenty-four though my brother, Alpha, is twenty-seven. I hope this doesn't change anything between us._ Vulcan confessed, lowering his head to her with a whimper.

Alduinera snapped out of it and smiled, surprising him by cupping his cheek with her hand.

"Hey, don't worry about it. At least I know now, right? Besides, I can't think of you as terrifying but more towards friendly and fun. And if you can put up with me and agree to sleep in the same room as me then I can certainly put up with this." she replied reassuringly.

Vulcan sighed in relief before transforming back into his human disguise.

"Thanks, Alduinera." he said in a relieved tone as well as flashing her a smile.

Alduinera froze up, then turning around and blushing. She began to walk away and Vulcan followed after her, wondering why she went rigid all of the sudden.

"Are Aurora and Balto the same?" Alduinera asked, trying to cover herself up.

"They are but not the same as Ryker and me. Aurora is an Islingr Suicune, a being of light with complete control over water and ice. Balto, if you haven't noticed, isn't normal either. He's a wolf of Light and all." Vulcan explained, sending her a mental image of Aurora.

"She's beautiful. And her wings are amazing!" she commented as they returned to the main street.

Vulcan scratched his head, looking nervous as he looked at the sky.

"Well, you are too.." he remarked, blushing as he did so.

Alduinera blushed as well though took it a lot better than he did.

"Thanks, Vulcan!" she sang before hugging him for a moment.

When she released him and turned around, Vulcan pumped his fist into the air, extremely happy. As they walked, Alduinera noticed the building where the Companions were residing.

"You know what? What does your brother look like?" she asked, earning a laugh from Vulcan.

"Yeah, you'd have to ask him yourself. He's really... distrustful of others when it comes to telling them of his true identity. Who knows though? Maybe since I leads showed you my real form, he'll show you his." Vulcan explained as they noticed a man practicing telekinesis by throwing a cabbage into a bucket.

 **With Ryker...**

Ryker was in deep thought as he walked down the town street. He then noticed a large spike in aura and concluded with a smile that Vulcan transformed in front of Alduinera. He shook his head, returning to his thoughts. The fact that he was walking right now was a feat, successfully convincing Aurora to not worry. Aurora had reluctantly agreed before deciding to go after Balto and join in on the workout.

"Ah, Alpha. How nice it is to see you." a feminine voice told him, snapping him out of his trance-like state.

Ryker turned around to see Aeola from the Companions. He nodded before turning back around.

"Likewise, Aeola. What brings you here?" he asked as he began walking again.

Aeola chuckled before nudging him with an elbow, the simple act somewhat irritated him.

"Well, I live right there." she answered, pointing to a large circular building.

Ryker remembered that the building was the headquarters of the Companions and nodded, noticing some members of the prestigious group sparring or mingling amongst themselves.

"Of course. How silly of me." he replied, his Alpha side taking over making his voice, expression, and such emotionless and overall, making him unapproachable.

This was how he avoided conversations in the past before he met Aurora. His Alpha side, when mostly his instincts tell him how to act, would give him an intimidating presence and such which would deter others.

Aeola noticed this and distanced herself from him though just a little bit. She still seemed to have a small ray of hope though.

"Say, would you like to join the Companions?" she asked as they neared the house of the Companions.

Ryker stopped in front of the front entrance, picking up several... _unique_ scents in the area. He turned around and gave a small questioning arch of the eyebrow at Aeola.

"A spot in the Companions? Thank you but even if I were to join, I wouldn't be able to stay long." he replied as more of the Companions began gathering around them, sizing up Ryker or in the women's case, checking him out.

"He doesn't look like much." a burly one remarked, nudging Ryker on the back.

At that moment, Ryker swiftly grabbed the man's hand and tightened his grip, instantly breaking most of the bones within.

"Arahhhh! Let go! Let go!" the man cried out in agony, getting on his knees whilst trying to pull his hand away from Ryker.

Ryker turned his head and glared at the man, scaring the onlookers. He then let go as a man that had an amiable air around him walked up to him. He had aged skin and gray hair, his beard scruffy in some areas. The man glared at the burly attacker before turning to Farkas who was present.

"Farkas, relieve him of his Companion status and get him out of here. We don't accept arrogant men like him." the man told Farkas who nodded and dragged the downed man next to Ryker away.

Aeola leaned in towards Ryker and whispered, her voice informative and a little proud.

"He's Kodak, the leader of the Companions." she told him though he already knew that.

Kodlak looked at Ryker and grinned, extending a hand.

"Greetings, friend. I am Kodlak, Harbinger and leader of the Companions."

Ryker shook his hand and noticed that Kodlak, Vilkas, Farkas, Aeola, and two others are the only ones with the curious scents and was on alert. Ryker then decided that he didn't need to fake an accent to the people of Skyrim.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Alpha and I hope I didn't disturb anything just now."

Kodlak was surprised at Ryker's alias and shook his head.

"It's quite alright. Especially for self-defense, I might add." Kodlak replied.

Kodlak dismissed the rest of them save for the inner group and went inside, motioning for Ryker to follow. Ryker hesitated before walking in as well, following Kodlak to a room where the five of them could converse. Kodlak sat down, pulling a chair up for Ryker to do the same. Ryker sat down and the rest of them simply leaned on the walls. Ryker noted the antiques placed all around the room, the weapons hanging on the walls, and the numerous books and scrolls on the stands.

"Really, I should apologize for him earlier. I was beginning to consider letting him go myself the other day. What just happened out there sealed it." Kodlak stated, pouring a glass of wine.

He offered it to Ryker who took it with thanks, then poured one for himself and the others.

"Now," Kodlak announced as he took a sip of his wine, "my colleagues told me that your abilities in battle are significantly adept."

"I don't think my combat skills are all that they seem, most of the maneuvers and techniques are simply. Though, it may be because of several years of self-training and the like." Ryker replied as he drank his wine like it was water.

His comfortability with drinking wine andsuch without minding the aftereffects or the burning sensation when it makes contact with the throat surprised them and they looked at him with a new perspective.

"Self-training? And how did you do that?" Kodlak questioned, incredulous.

Ryker smiled, this question being asked for the first time though it was probably because he didn't talk much about his self-training.

"I knew two people who were masters of martial arts. I watched as they fought with krav maga, all styles of kung fu, muay thai, taekwando, karate, ninjitsu, jujitsu, judo, and kendo." Ryker answered as he remembered his father and mother teach him shortly after Vulcan turned three years old.

The Companions looked at him in astonishment though wondered if all those fighting styles were real. He was speaking Greek to them and Ryker wondered if any of those styles even exist in Skyrim. Ryker chuckled to himself thinking that he might as well tell them the rest.

"Along with all that, I learned all military styles and variants of combat. Once I learned those two, I took each concept, element, and crucial points and such and combined them all into a single technique that so far only I can use that can be either lethal or non-lethal."

Kodlak looked incredulous, setting his cup of wine down onto the desk next to him. Ryker nodded and continued.

"If I were to fight in front of you, you would see me perform maneuvers or attacks that may look like a specific style of fighting. What really happens though, let's say I punch someone. You may think it's a kung fu style punch. However, when I punch, I activate several different styles of fighting at once that syncs with the punch therefore making it a completely different style. However, I can activate other variants or styles of combat into that punch, not just that single combination."

The others leaned in, their interest piqued and all tried to comprehend the concept.

"This took me all of my late childhood years as well as all of my teenage years and then some. The strains on the mind as well as the body is grueling, yes, but in the end, it was all worth it for me. Now, I have the strength necessary to protect those I care for." he finished, looking at his open palm which hid the tissues of muscle of which the fibers were like strands of steel, strong and taut yet flexible muscle that can activate and jump into action at a moment's notice.

"That's all amazing... But how did you train yourself?" Farkas asked with curiosity.

"I trained myself against shadow copies of myself, each of them set to use a certain style of combat." Ryker simply answered, not bothering to explain what he meant by "shadow copies".

He then looked at Kodlak, his smile disappearing though it wasn't because of any negative feeling.

"So I understand that you are trying to recruit me? May I ask what are the Companions?" Ryker asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Yes! Right to the point. Yes, we would love it if you join us here. The Companions, we are a group of people who find pleasure in ridding the land of all of its dangers. It ranges from criminals to wild animals, crazy magicians, vampires, hogravens, hostile dragons, etcetra etcetera. Sometimes, we get paid to do it, sometimes we do it because we want to. How about it?" Kodlak explained, extending his hand.

Ryker inwardly sighed, figuring that he might as well find something to do until Ultima is done with his training with the Greybeards. He shook Kodlak's hand and the rest of them cheered, welcoming Ryker with open arms.

 **Four months later...**

A few months breezed by in a blink of an eye. Ultima finally returned from his Dragonborn training with the Greybeards and was now adept in dragon Shouts as well as speaking in dragon tongue. He also went on several quests before he returned, ending up finding more ancient dragon Shouts in random caves and tombs. Ultima also took up smithing and forged himself a new set of armor and weapons.

Ultima walked into Whiterun, his armor gleaming in the sunlight. It was Daedric armor, ancient armor that composed of having multiple spikes and runes all over including the helmet. There were red lines of energy that covered his back, at the shoulders were red voids where it looked like his arms weren't connected to his shoulders. He also had a large axe that hung on his back, being double-sided and glowing red with a fiery energy. Ultima had his helmet in his arms though as he walked through town, he still unnerved some of the inhabitants and smiled, trying to ease their nerves.

He walked to Ryker's temporary home, finding Vulcan and Alduinera sitting on the floor and playing a board game of some kind. At the moment, Vulcan was winning and Alduinera was tapping her fingers against the floor with frustration. She then smiled with delight and moved a piece several times on a zigzag motion with a triumphant smile.

"I win!" she cheered, pumping her first and sticking her tongue at Vulcan.

Vulcan looked incredulous and looked at the board with disbelief.

"How the-? What did-? Damn it all." he cursed, shaking his head with a small smile as he handed Alduinera a few gold coins.

Balto was sleeping on the couch in the corner of the room, his ears twitching slightly with the background noise. He was actually dreaming of Jenna, his time there making him get a little homesick. He rolled onto his back and pawed at the air, whining in his sleep. He then flattened his ears against his head and started to pant happily, making the others wonder what could he possibly be dreaming about.

Ultima chuckled at the sight and set his things down, taking off his armor revealing a casual shirt and pants underneath, both surprisingly in good condition despite the fact that the armor should've shredded them.

"Hey guys, I'm back." Ultima announced with a low tone to avoid disturbing Balto in his sleep.

"Oh hey, Ultima. Nice to see you again." Vulcan replied with a smile and a wave, a simply "Hey" from Alduinera before she ran to the bathroom.

"Is Alpha here?" Ultima asked as he looked at the stairway, seeing Aurora in her casual clothing as well.

"Sorry, he isn't here. He's on an important mission with the Companions to drive off the Silver-hand or whatever they're called." Aurora told him with a worried look though she quickly brightened up.

Ultima noticed this and sat down, Aurora sitting down across from him at the table.

"That was a quick expression change. Weren't you just worried about Alpha?" he asked with a small smile.

"I was actually but I then remembered that he's Alpha and that I have nothing to worry about. Besides," she looked down and hugged her necklace close, "I wouldn't forgive him if he were to suddenly... go.. When he gets back, if he has any injuries.."

Aurora made a strangling motion with her hands and Ultima wondered what was up with that. Were they lovers or something? At that moment, the door opened and Ryker stepped inside, a small cut on his forehead though not serious enough to scar. He had a few bruises on him as well.

"Ah. How were the Greybeards?" he asked as he closed the door.

"There were nice. Demanding as crying babies but nice. They taught me so many things there at High Hrothgar. I even met the legendary Paarthurnax at The Throat of the World." Ultima replied as he watched Aurora punch Ryker in the stomach then proceeded to comically choke Ryker.

"What did I say before you left?! What did I say?!" Aurora raged despite the fact they were only minor injuries.

Ryker tried to reply but her hands were around his throat. She then released him, hand imprints visible on his neck. The next five minutes composed of Ryker explaining to Aurora about what happened and she finally calmed down, sitting on the couch next to the sleeping Balto.

"At least you made it back safely." she sighed, exasperated as Ryker chuckled.

Aurora looked at Balto who was still pawing at the air and panting happily in his sleep. She chuckled at this and looked at the time, finding that he had been sleeping for nearly the entire day. She scratched Balto's head gently, making him growl in contentment in his sleep.

Alduinera walked back into the living room, looking at the disappearing hand imprints on Ryker's neck as well as waving at him, then remembered to ask Ryker about something.

"Hey. A while back, I spotted a few marks on Aurora's neck which was pretty red. I asked her but she said it was just an allergic reaction. Do you think it's okay? I'm sure you saw it before and I just want your opinion." she asked, arching an eyebrow.

Aurora silently giggled to herself with a mild blush and turned her head away. Vulcan tilted his head and looked at Ryker with a questioning look. Ultima had no idea what they were talking about and gave all of them a curious look.

"What did it look like? I used to be a small-time doctor back in my homeland." Ultima asked, all of them then received a mental image from Alduinera.

Ryker averted his gaze and looked out the window as Vulcan narrowed his eyes as if the image was physical.

"They look more like a bite mark than anything." Vulcan commented.

 _I think I should've remembered to hide it with my hair._ Aurora privately told Ryker who gave her a sheepish smile.

 _I didn't mean to do that actually... Sorry._ he replied back to her.

 _It's fine. Just a love bite is all._ Aurora remarked with a mental giggle.

"It actually does look like a bite mark. You said it was an allergic reaction?" Ultima asked Aurora who nodded her head feverishly.

" _Anyways,_ I think she was just fine. She didn't show any other symptoms or get sick so it was a small allergic reaction." Ryker answered in reply to Alduinera's earlier question.

Ryker sat down across from Ultima at the table. Ultima, wondering why Ryker sounded like he wanted to steer the conversation, decided to just ask another question.

"So how goes the Companions? I noticed before that Aeola has an eye for you." Ultima asked with a chuckle.

Aurora shot Ultima a glare though he didn't see it. Ryker, however, did and gave Ultima a subtle look of warning though the latter didn't notice that either.

"We just raided a Silver-hand hideout." Ryker stated with a sigh.

"The Silver-hand? You mean the organization of people who hunt down werewolves, vampires, and other humanoid creatures of the like?" Ultima asked.

"Indeed and I just found out that the inner circle of the Companions including their leader are werewolves which explains their peculiar scent. I'm supposed to meet them tonight at a secret room they call the Underforge."

The others were shocked by this new information, wondering if Ryker would actually go to a meeting full of werewolves.

 _Are you going to go? If so, bring me with._

They looked to see Balto yawning and getting up. He then ran up to Ryker and nodded.

"How was your power nap?" Ryker asked as Balto jumped and sat on one of the chairs.

 _Great. Really great. So, how about it? May I come with?_ Balto questioned once more, earning a nod from Ryker.

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you came along. Just stay silent but if anything happens, be ready to see some lycanthropes." Ryker replied.

A couple of hours later, it was already nightfall and Ryker was in front of the entrance to the home of the Companions. Balto was waiting next to him, sitting on his haunches. Suddenly, the door opened and Vilkas appeared, a knife in hand.

"Glad you can make it... I see you brought one of your partners as well" Vilkas commented, Ryker nodding in reply.

"I hope you don't mind. He wouldn't stop begging to go since his loyalty for me is amazingly high." Ryker announced with a hidden smirk.

 _Hey, watch it._ Balto warned to Ryker with a swat to the leg with a paw.

Vilkas nodded and led them down the cobblestone path, stopping in front of a large rock that the Skyforge above rested on. The stone was the size of a house and if one were to look, one would see an indent on a certain spot on the stone wall. Vilkas pushed this spot and a door-like slab of stone rose and revealed a large opening that led to a cave within.

"Come now. Aeola, Farkas, and Kodlak are waiting inside." the werewolf told Ryker before walking in.

Ryker and Balto followed with caution, both noticing a strong peculiar scent that came from deep inside the Underforge. The stone done behind them closed shut and Balto stayed behind Ryker for cover. The two followed Vilkas until they were in a large circular room. Three wolf totems surrounded the room, each with different runes and facial expressions. In the center of the room was a large bowl which rested on a podium. Standing in front the bowl were Farkas and Kodlak, both of them had serious expressions.

Behind the bowl, however, stood Aeola. Balto looked with surprise at her, seeing a bipedal wolf creature with clawed hands instead of paws as well as having huge feet. She had dark brown fur that covered her entire body and had a long tail that was coiled up next to her. She had a muzzle as well though they could tell she was smiling. She had no clothes on but thankfully, her fur covered her private parts as well as her chest and rump.

"This is the ancient blood ritual of Hircine, the Daedric Prince of the Hunt." Kodlak stated before taking the knife from Vilkas.

He then slowly dragged it along Aeola's palm, her blood leaking into the bowl underneath.

"Alpha, you have been with is for a while now and since then, the Companions rose to one of the most respected and depended on organizations. We thank you for your high contributions in such little time with us. In return, we would like to officially accept you as one of us, become a werewolf and we'll accept you as a true brother of Hircine." Kodlak announced as Aeola nudged Ryker with her snout.

Ryker looked at the bowl of werewolf blood, shaking his head. Balto inwardly laughed and laid down trying to contain it.

"I refuse." was Ryker's answer.

This enraged Farkas and he walked up to Ryker angrily.

"What do you mean you refuse? You should be honored that we even gave you this offer!"

"Belive me, I am. However, I don't want your werewolf blood. Rather, I don't need it." Ryker calmly retorted, shoving Farkas away as the man tried to punch him.

Kodlak, surprised, walked up to Ryker with a questioning expression.

"But why, Alpha? Why don't you?" Kodlak asked him with a pleading tone.

Aeola whined at this and grabbed Ryker's arm, tugging it pleadingly.

"You just answered your question, Kodlak. You said it just now." Ryker responded as he detached himself from Aeola who continued to whine with a pleading look.

Vilkas and Farkas growled, both turning into werewolves and walking up to Ryker menacingly.

"Oh, so now because I refuse your offer I have to be killed?" Ryker asked with slight amusement.

"I'm sorry, Alpha, but no one outside the Companions can know our secret." Kodlak sneered with an apologetic tone.

As they neared Ryker, Balto got up and growled menacingly, his golden tribal marks glowing brightly. Aeola surprised them a by standing in front of Ryker, throwing out her arms protectively. Ryker, however, simply gave them a menacing stare and growled. All of them immediately stopped and the oncoming werewolves backed away in fear. Aeola stepped to the side, scared herself. Balto flattened his ears against his head in submission and hugged close to the ground as Ryker walked passed him.

 _"Do you think you can take on The Alpha?"_ Ryker queried with a growl.

The Companions widened their eyes in shock and lowered themselves in submission, the three in their werewolf forms whining for forgiveness.

 _Do they know about you? Even in a different dimension?_ Balto asked as Ryker continued growling.

The others looked at Balto in astonishment before Ryker nodded in confirmation.

 _"All canine species, including turned humans like werewolves, werebadgers, EVERY canine creature are born with the knowledge of the Fenrir. Turned humans like werewolves have an instinct to submit to me. As for them knowing about me, specifically The Alpha, it's all instinct for them as well. This excludes pokémon though, due to Jeanne."_ Ryker replied.

Kodlak shook in fear as he crawled up to Ryker, looking at him with a pleading expression.

"Y-Y-You are The Alpha? How are you even here? Hircine said you were in a different dimension." Kodlak stammered.

 _"So word of me has spread to Skyrim? *sigh* The thing with these Daedric Princes, Balto, is that they are indeed real in this dimension, almost godlike actually. They can talk to mortals and intervene with everything should they desire it. Good thing I studied them when we first landed here...HIRCINE! SHOW YOURSELF!"_ Ryker roared, an ethereal figure appearing in front of them.

The Companions gasped as Hircine materialised in the form of a golden wolf, the size of a small house. He padded up to Ryker, chuckling all the while.

 _My, my, The Alpha is in our midst... How exciting._ Hircine announced with a sneer.

He turned to the Companions and growled.

 _Leave this one be! Even I can't defeat him if we were to be thrown into a quarrel. His power is nigh limitless and you will all become smears in the ground before you can even lay a scratch on him._ Hircine snarled as he looked back at Ryker.

Hircine circled Ryker as if he was inspecting the Fenrir. He then nodded and gave a small smirk that seemed to be full of mischief.

 _I hope we will meet again in the future, Lord Alpha._ Hircine added before howling and disappearing.

Ryker looked at the Companions and noticed their quivering. He looked to his side to see Aeola trying to calm herself down. However, she accidentally calmed herself too much and the adrenaline that was calmly pumping through her body wasn't flowing anymore. She reverted back into her human form and screamed out in shock, having nothing to cover her naked body with. Balto mentally laughed hard and averted his gaze, looking at the ceiling as he tried to calm himself down. Ryker sighed with slight irritation and walked over to Kodlak, taking off the old man's cloak and putting it on Aeola. She silently thanked him as she covered herself and Ryker gave the rest of the Companions a stern look.

"I'll be leaving now. Do not try anything on me again or come near any of my fellow associates. If you do.., " Ryker said as he walked up to the alter and broke it," I won't show any mercy."

Ryker turned around and walked down the path, stopping at the stone door. He looked back to see Aeola pulling a lever, allowing him to leave. Ryker nodded at her, silently thanking her. He walked out into the cold night, Balto following him.

"Wait!" Aeola shouted, causing them to turn around and look to see her standing there, her cloak covering her body though blowing in the weak breeze.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that it would end up that way. Please forgive me." she pleaded as Ryker and Balto began walking again.

"It's fine. You redeemed yourself at the very end even though it really wasn't needed." Ryker replied, Aeola sighed with relief and smiled at them.

Ryker and Balto walked through the town, its streets empty and as silent as a cemetery. The moon hung high above them and the stairs blinked in and out of sight.

 _We didn't see anything today?_ Balto asked with amusement as he laughed.

"We didn't see anything." Ryker replied before running off with the decision to take a night run.

Balto shook his head with a laugh and followed after Ryker, the two of them running off into the night with great speed.

 **At the house...**

Alduinera yawned, laying back onto her bed. She looked to her left to see Vulcan cleaning up his side of the room... which was only the floor and a mat. Alduinera pouted and got up. Ever since he agreed to sleep in the same room as her, he was always sleeping on the mat on the floor instead of sharing the huge-sized bed that they had in the room. She tried to talk him into it but failed many times, always receiving a smile from him whenever he denied. Alduinera patted his shoulder, Vulcan turning around with a smile.

"Yeah? Do you need something?" Vulcan asked as he stopped cleaning.

"... Why do you do that?"

Vulcan looked confused and gave her a questioning look, his eyebrows arched and his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"What do you mean? Cleaning? If there's a mess somewhere then it should be taken care of, right?"

Alduinera growled and threw out her arms in frustration.

"You know what I mean! Why do you insist on being so gentleman-like? Why won't you just consider yourself for once? Why be so hospitable to me?" she asked, pulling in her hair slightly.

Vulcan's smile dimmed a bit though it was still there. He sighed and began to sweat a little in nervousness.

"I guess I take it from my brother. I watched him be humble, a gentleman, and so hospitable around others. I guess when I grew up, I always wanted to be like him but I knew I couldn't. It's not that I can't be any of those things but I am my own person. Though, I found that I do it not because I want to become him. But rather, I want to be liked by others. It's just that being all of those things make it a lot faster is all. Trust me, sometimes, I find it tiring to be all like that."

"But you don't need to be all those things. Sure, they're good qualities but there are others too. I just want you to relax and spoil yourself once and a while. Like this whole bed situation we're in, why don't you just use the bed? It's not like I mind or anything." Alduinera shot back.

Vulcan became really nervous, taking a very deep breath. He then gathered his courage and looked at Alduinera dead in the eye.

"Well you see, before I was reunited with my brother, before we came here actually, I would act pretty similar to Balto. I would be pretty much be a loudmouth, carefree, and spontaneous type of guy. Though, the reason why I'm, well, I guess a little sobered down is because.. "

Vulcan held Alduinera's hand gently, surprising her as blushes appeared on both of their faces.

"... I met you, Alduinera. I'm.. I'm in love with you. The whole time here, I was, and still am, trying to impress you and hopefully win your heart." he confessed with nervousness.

Alduinera couldn't speak, her words lost and her legs shaking with shock. At first she thought she misheard him but then couldn't believe even that.

"I was afraid that you would run away after knowing the truth about me and my brother though when you didn't,... I felt really happy. I love you, Alduinera, and I will protect you with my life. Alduinera, I fell in in love with you at first sight. I love your amazing laugh, your melodious voice, your great personality. I don't care that this may cause a rift in our friendship but I will protect you and I will always love you." Vulcan confessed as he walked away, head slumped.

As he walked passed Alduinera, all sorts of things were going through her mind at that moment. The thing was, she loved him as well but she didn't know how to form it in words nor she can express it. However, she thought to herself with realization.

 _He...loves me? He loves me...He loves me. He loves me. He loves me!_

She grabbed Vulcan's hand and held him there, Vulcan slowly turning his head around. Alduinera blushed though with determination, she slowly leaned her face towards his. Vulcan's heart rate was quickly rising though he ignored it. He leaned his head towards her as well, both of them coming close to the middle. Then, it happened.

Their lips made contact, sending shocks throughout their entire beings. Alduinera closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment, hoping that it would last forever. Vulcan took his other hand and wrapped it around her, embracing her while they kissed. The feeling they were having...it was indescribable. Neither can explain the feeling with words nor could they even believe the fact that they were kissing at all. As they kissed, Vulcan licked at Alduinera's lips, begging entrance. Alduinera happily opened her mouth and allowed his tongue to explore her mouth.

Vulcan's tongue prodded all around her mouth, her own tongue exploring his. They then battled each other in terms of dominance, their two appendages wrapped around each other and exchanging saliva. Vulcan surprised Alduinera by lifting her up and laying her on the bed, getting on the bed himself and positioning himself above her. Alduinera blushed harder at their positions but knew that Vulcan wouldn't try anything until the both of them were ready.

Finally, they separated and inhaled for air, Alduinera's face red and Vulcan's as well. Alduinera looked at Vulcan with loving eyes who, in return, kissed her lightly on the lips.

"I love you too, Vulcan." she announced as he pulled back.

Vulcan smiled and laid himself next to her, Alduinera scooting over and laid her upper body onto his chest. Vulcan embraced her and thought about the events of the day and smiled, finding that their confessions to each other would be the most memorable.

"Hey, Vulcan?" Alduinera asked him, looking at his face uninsured eyes.

"Yes, Ally?" Vulcan replied, earning a smile from her.

"Ally...I like it. Oh, do you mind if I, um, sleep in my dragon form?"

Vulcan chuckled and shook his head.

"Of course not. In fact, I think I'll sleep in my **Altered Form.** " Vulcan answered as they both got up.

Alduinera, Ally, transformed into her dragon form, her black scales shining brightly and her reddish-pink eyes shone like jewels. However, her size was significantly smaller than of that she was at Helgen. Ally had the power to shrink her size as well it seemed, her body now as large as Vulcan's. She turned to see Vulcan in his **Altered Form,** his fur matching her eyes. Vulcan looked at her nervously only for her to lick the side of his muzzle. Encouraged, Vulcan smiled and nuzzled her neck which earned another kiss to the muzzle. The both of them laid down and Vulcan draped his wing over her, his wing acting as her blanket that would keep her warm throughout the night.

 _Good night, Ally._ Vulcan told her as he laid his head down.

Ally laid her head along Vulcan's neck though it wasn't uncomfortable for either of them.

 _Nighty, Vulcan._ she replied, nuzzling him.

As they fell asleep, Ryker hugged Aurora closer to him and amazingly, he didn't wake her up. He looked up at the ceiling of the house and silently chuckled to himself, shaking his head.

 _They're pretty loud._ he thought to himself.

He then yawned, a small jet of flame escaping his mouth. He then looked to see Aurora cuddle up to him in her sleep, a smile on her face and and her arms around him. Ryker smiled and closed his eyes, his breathing slowing until he finally fell asleep.

It was morning and the group were seated at the round table at the center of the living room...well, Ryker was standing since there were no more chairs they could pull up. Ultima looked at Ally, his face showed questioning and wonder.

"So, can you tell us more about Graysheor, Alduinera? Who is he?" he asked as he took a sip from his cup of water.

Ally nodded and cleared her throat, her expression became serious and her eyes stern.

"Graysheor isn't one to trifle with, Dovakhiin. He's a Draugr, older than even the very first Dovakhiin, Miraak. Speaking of, I believe he is still alive and if you want to even come close to defeating Graysheor, you must defeat Miraak." she explain, seeing looks of confusion on their faces.

"The first Dovakhiin, you say? He must be at least a couple of centuries old then." Ryker commented.

"He is. He is feared by most dragons and actually led a rebellion against us once a while back." Ally replied, a frown forming on her face.

Balto tilted his head and pawed at his ear, succeeding in driving off a flea he caught during a walk outside.

 _A rebellion? Is that why he is feared by dragons?_ he asked, surprised as Ally shook her head as a negative response.

"No, why he is feared is something else entirely. Ultima, you know how a Shout is composed of three words? The more words used the more powerful?" Ally asked as they looked at the Dragonborn.

Ultima arched his eyebrows and nodded, leaning forward and rubbing his chin.

"Yes, that was one of the first things the Greybeards taught me. What of it?"

"Miraak learned of a unique Shout from Hermaeus Mora, a Daedric Prince of Knowledge and Power. The Shout actually is composed of _four_ words instead of three."

Ally looked down at the table, frowning and shaking a bit. Vulcan immediately wrapped and arm around her and she looked at him in thanks, holding his hand underneath the table. Ryker smiled at this and so did Aurora and Balto.

"The Shout allows him to absorb the soul of a dragon. There is no limit to it. As long as he knows the name of the dragon, all he has to say is those four words and that's it. He killed dozens of dragons already.." she finished, a moment of silence enveloping them.

"So basically, he can't kill you unless he knows your name." Aurora remarked, looking at Ally who nodded.

"He doesn't know my name so don't call me out in front of him." Ally joked with a smile, earning chuckles from the rest of them.

Ryker walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a mug, filling it with water. He then walked back to the table and took a sip.

"So what's the plan? Do we know where this Miraak is?" he asked as Ally shook her head.

"I heard that he only appears when dragons die to absorb their souls. Otherwise, he resides in the netherworld, saving his power and charging." Ally replied.

"Well until then, Ultima, you should train to prepare yourself." Vulcan commented with a smirk.

"Train? I trained my magic and Shouts with the Greybeards as well as my swordsmanship with an elf of the Companions." Ultima responded with a weary sigh.

"What about hand-to-hand combat? Your body, physically?" Vulcan added as he earned chuckles from Aurora and Balto.

Ultima shook his head but smiled anyways.

"No, but I can handle myself. Besides, who would teach me that?"

Vulcan smiled devilishly and Ultima suddenly became scared. He look at Balto to see the wolf smiling as well, his fangs glinting in the dim light. He looked at Ally and Aurora to see them give him a look of sympathy, Aurora shaking her head with a small apologetic smile. Ultima then became pale, looking at Ryker who had just finished the last bit of his water. Ryker set his cup down at the table and gave Ultima a questioning look, genuinely clueless to the situation since he was just in deep thought.

"Is there something the matter?" Ryker asked, giving each of them a look.

Ultima screamed in terror and ran for the door. Balto immediately got up and tackled Ultima to the floor, dragging him back. Ultima tried to kick his way out of the hellish situation, leaving trails of scratches on the floor as his fingers dragged as well.

 _Vulcan! Help me out over here!_ Balto called out.

Vulcan chuckled evilly before running over and grabbing Ultima in a semi-choke hold. Aurora looked at Ally with somber, Ally having a small inkling on how grueling Ryker can be when training. Aurora nodded slowly before placing a hand on Ally's shoulder.

"When should the funeral be? This week? Today?" she asked with a sad tone.

"I still have no idea what's happening." Ryker remarked.

"You're training him!" Vulcan answered as he dodged a punch from Ultima who was still trying to escape in vain.

Ryker nodded and walked up to the three struggling bunch. He grabbed Ultima's shoulder calmly as Vulcan and Balto released the Dragonborn. Ultima was shaking as he looked at Ryker with fright. Ryker, feeling humorous, tilted his head slowly at an angle and looked at Ultima with an emotionless expression.

"You're going to train with me now... Are you prepared for possible death?" Ryker asked in a terrifying voice.

Vulcan couldn't speak and his eyes rolled to the back of his head, his limbs going limp. Balto started to laugh, his chest heaving as he rolled onto his side. Vulcan laughed as well and had to bury his head under his arms to control himself. Aurora laughed as well and Ally covered her mouth, a wide smile on her face.

 _He-He-He FAINTED hahahaha! The guy freaking fainted HAHAHA!_ Balto roared as he curled up as if he was trying to prevent his sides from splitting.

Ryker chuckled and stretched his arm, giving them a small smile.

"I think we overdid it." he remarked as he made sure Ultima didn't die.

"I wonder if he's going to faint again when you two begin." Ally commented with a small laugh.

Ryker raised his hand and struck Ultima in three different spots on the chest, waking the Dragonborn from the faint. Ultima jolted as he got up, looking at Ryker then at the rest of them. He then slowly shook his head, silently muttering a prayer.

"Please don't kill me, Alpha." he pleaded as he kneeled in front of Ryker.

Ryker chuckled and helped Ultima up, leading the Dragonborn to the yard.

"Don't worry. The two months will pass by quickly." Ryker remarked, earning a look of horror from Ultima.

"Two months? What are we going to do until then?" Vulcan asked.

Ryker turned and looked at Aurora with a smile.

"Aurora, dear, can you please explain to them?" he asked as he turned back around.

Aurora sighed with a roll of the eyes before smiling and turning to Vulcan and Ally. Balto, however, seemed to be already familiar with the subject and simply shrugged with a chuckle.

"Don't worry. In truth, they'll be unconscious for around sixteen hours. Alpha will put Ultima to sleep as well as himself. He will then send both of their minds into a special void or dimension created by him. They will train there for two months and when they come back, and Ultima will have grown mentally stronger and wiser. They will not age at all during their time there." Aurora explained.

Vulcan and Ally looked at them in shock, unbelieving and such. Aurora then led them to the yard just in time to see Ultima fall unconscious as well as Ryker onto their chairs. One could feel a strange energy pulse from the two if one were to get near.

 _Yep, their minds are linked now._ Balto commented as he snapped at an annoying fly that got too close.

They went back inside and wondered what they were going to do for the next eight hours. Ally, having an idea, looked at them excitedly.

"Hey, guys, when was the last time you played truth or dare?" she asked with a sinister tone.

 **Sixteen hours later...**

"I'm never doing that again!" Ultima shouted as he got up.

Ryker opened his eyes and chuckled, stretching and looking at the sky. It was dawn and he could hear birds chirping in the trees. He followed Ultima inside and was surprised to find Balto passed out on the floor with a pink bow on his tail, his claws were colored bright red with nail polish, and his mouth covered with bits of bacon. Vulcan was on the couch, his hair dyed purple and his face painted like that of a clown. His shirt was tied around his neck like a cape and his jacket was tied around his waist.

Ryker looked at the table to see Ally sleeping soundly on it. Though, she was in her **Altered Form** and her scales seemed to have mud plastered on it. Her wings had marker drawings on the membrane and there was...blue frosting all over her mouth. Her tail had a decorative fringe attached to it and her underbelly had drawings on it as well. Ultima then nudged Ryker and pointed to the kitchen counter to find Aurora sleeping on her stomach. She had her hair braided in random spots and there was a dog cone around her neck. She had make-up plastered horribly on her face and her tongue was stained purple.

"What the hell happened here?" Ultima asked as he began to clean up the house.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Ryker replied as he too began cleaning up.

The biggest mess was in the living room so they started there first. Afterwards, they went on to the kitchen and then the dining room table. There were many random things on the floor such as ribbons, a horn with "Squeeze me" on the ball end, and more.

"Do you think we should wake them up?" Ultima asked as he threw away a plate of chunks of smashed bacon.

Ryker finished cleaning up his part and thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"Let them sleep. I'm sure they exhausted from whatever they did for the last sixteen hours." Ryker replied as he took of the dog cone off from Aurora's neck.

He then picked her up bridal style and went upstairs, laying her on the bed in their room. He undid the hastily made braids on her hair and gently wiped the make-up off her face. He then found that the purple stain on her tongue was from the grape wine downstairs, he remembered that the bottle was missing its cap when he threw it away. He then went back downstairs and cleaned up Balto, then picking him up and and laying the sleeping wolf onto another couch. Next, he went to Vulcan and did the same but he didn't have to lay him anywhere since Vulcan was already on the couch. Finally, he cleaned up Ally and picked her up, laying her onto her bed in her room. All the while, Ultima watched with incredulity as Ryker succeeded in keeping them asleep.

"How do you do that?" Ultima asked as Ryker began walking upstairs.

Ryker simply shrugged, genuinely surprised at this himself.

"I actually don't know. Luck perhaps?" Ryker answered as he walked the rest of the way.

Ultima sighed and went to his room, undressing then plopping down onto his bed. Soon afterwards, he fell asleep from the mental exhaustion from training with Ryker. Upstairs, Ryker took a shower then laid on the bed. He looked at the sleeping form of Aurora, her figure lined by the moonlight. Ryker then looked at the ceiling and stayed that way for a while.

 _Something in this land...It's making my darkness amplify._ he thought to himself.

He noticed this before but when he came back from the mental plane with Ultima, he was certain of it since the change was more apparent. Suddenly, his family brands started to flare intensely, black flames started to flash in small tongues. Wisps of darkness started to emit from him as well, darkening the room a lot more than it was already was. Ryker noticed this and got up from the bed, walking somewhat speedily to the bathroom. He turned on the facet at the sink and washed his face, nearly jumping when he saw someone else in the mirror. This person's hair was somewhat long, the back reaching to the base of the neck while the front only somewhat covering the eyes. The man in the mirror had a stern face though his eyes showed malevolence, fury, and wickedness. He had a scar on the right side of his face that ran down from his temple to a little over his chest. His eyes had white irises though the sclera were black.

The man in the mirror was Ryker, no, it was The Alpha.

 **"I'm surprised that I even made it this far."** Alpha remarked, emotionless and his voice powerful.

"They care for me. Aurora loves me. Even Vulcan is back...I have a family again." Ryker replied.

 **"Though I wonder, will it really last? Will I continue to go on like this?"** Alpha shot back.

"It can. It will. I just have to believe it will."

 **"...I just don't think there will be a happy ending. I want to protect them, right?"**

"Of course I do but I have to be around to do that."

 **"If I stick around, I'll just attract more danger to them."**

As Ryker fought against his even darker side, Aurora woke up and yawned. She then froze, hearing Ryker seemingly talk to himself. She walked to the bathroom though stayed at the doorway, hidden from Ryker's view.

"Then when I leave, who's going to protect them? I have the power to do it!" Ryker argued back though not loud enough to wake anyone up.

Aurora gasped as she saw his aura somewhat distort and his personality shift.

 **"I also have the power to destroy them! If I stay, may as well make graves for them already! Yes, they trust me and I them but one day, I know I have to go anyways!"**

Aurora frowned, her being one of Light, she already knew the moment they got to Skyrim that the land was covered with dark influence. She didn't think that it would affect Ryker that much though she was surprised at the argument Ryker was making with himself.

"...That doesn't mean I can't spend my days with them while I can. The Darkstalkers will come either way and when that day comes, I'll sense them before they even come within ten miles of me."

 _Darkstalkers? Does he mean-?_ Aurora thought.

 **"And Lygon? What if he comes? He could very well kill me, being the Manticore of Light and all."**

Aurora gasped once more, finally remembering why she thought the Lightstalkers back in Alagaësia sounded so familiar. Back in these regions, there were Darkstalkers, an organization of pokémon and creatures of Light that hunt down any dark force that grows too powerful. Sometimes, as he witnessed once before, they would capture those of darkness just because, holding them captive at The Beacon. The Beacon was a grand tower of Light that served as a complex prison for those who the Lightstalkers deem "unholy." Lygon, the leader of the Darkstalkers, was a powerful one indeed though Aurora couldn't even grasp the fact that he could kill Ryker. But then again, she nearly did back in Sinnoh...

"...I've decided-." Ryker muttered.

Ryker froze as he was suddenly hugged from behind. He began to shake as he heard soothing whispers. Ryker turned around and found Aurora looking up at him with tears though she had a small smile on her face.

"It's okay. Ryker, my love, it's okay..." Aurora soothed, hugging his face to her.

Ryker was surprised at her sudden appearance and wondered why she wasn't asleep. However, he didn't say anything and just stood there as Aurora continued to comfort him.

She released him and walked to the bed, turning around to see Ryker just standing there looking at the floor. Aurora bit the inside of her mouth and grabbed his arm, taking him to the bed. She laid down and so did he, both of them not saying a word. Aurora then cuddled up to him and held his hand beneath the covers.

"If you want to, we can talk about this tomorrow. I love you, Ryker." she whispered to him.

Ryker turned and looked at her, smiling which hid his pain and sadness underneath.

"I love you too, Aurora."

Aurora smiled and closed her eyes, missing Ryker's sad demeanor. Ryker sighed, smiling at Aurora's content look. He then looked at the ceiling and stared at it, staying that way for the rest of the night.

The next morning, Aurora woke to see Ryker washing his face at the sink. She got up and walked up to him, resting a hand on his bare back which glistened with small water droplets.

"Are you alright? Is there anything you want to talk about, love?" she asked as Ryker grabbed a towel to dry himself.

"... I'm just fine. Don't worry about it, I was just rambling my past thoughts from years ago." Ryker replied, succeeding and relieving Aurora.

Aurora smiled and hugged him before he walked out of the bathroom and allowed her to shower. As she showered, Ryker set down the towel and looked at a large mirror above the dresser, looking at himself. His eyes were bloodshot and there were bags under his eyes. His breathing was ragged but it wasn't noticeable. Ryker blinked and the sclera of his eyes turned black, blinking once more and his eyes went back to normal... by human standards. He shook his head and put on a plain gray shirt then walked downstairs.

"-or dare? So that explains a lot." Ultima remarked as laughter could be heard in the living room.

They were sitting at the living room table, Ultima shaking his head with a smile as Balto, Ally,, Vulcan, and Aurora sat there smiling and laughing. Ryker walked up to them whilst averting his gaze from them. Ultima noticed Ryker and stood up, his face serious and determined.

"Alpha, I'm ready to stop Greysheor." he announced, earning a small silence from the group.

"Why are you waiting on me for? It's not like I'm the leader of this group. If you feel like you can take down Miraak and Greysheor, then let's go." Ryker replied as he poured a cup of water for himself.

Ultima looked surprised but smiled, looking at the others and received nods of confirmation from them. He them looked back at Ryker and nearly swore he saw the intimidating man looked pained and tired for a quick second. However, Ultima thought he was seeing things and shrugged it off.

"Where to now?" Aurora questioned them as they walked out of the city.

Ultima frowned and looked at Ally who suddenly came up with an idea.

"Why don't you ask the Greybeards for help? I'm sure they wouldn't mind and if anything, they'll encourage you to go." Ally suggested.

Ultima looked at the others, all of them nodding in confirmation. He then sighed and led them to High Hrothgar, wondering if they felt like climbing a mountain.

They reached the mountain and Ultima commented that there was a thousand steps that led to High Hrothgar. The group was surprised at this, all wondering who would take the time to construct such a thing. As they trekked, they encountered a few snow ogres but luckily, as Ultima told them, they were very weak against fire. Ryker and Vulcan as well as Ally dispatched them quickly, encountering one after another every couple hundred of steps. Along the way, they also found shrines with ancient inscriptions carved into stone tablets. They found that each slab told a story, one of which recounted of the tale when Miraak first came to power. Finally, about a couple hour's worth of walking, they reached High Hrothgar. Ultima led them inside and performed a Shout, calling for the Greybeards.

The Greybeards immediately headed the call and appeared before them. There were four of them, one of them had a kind presence emitting from him. That one Greybeard took a step forwards and bowed at the newcomers as Ultima stepped aside.

"Greetings, travelers, my name is Argneir, leader of the Greybeards." The old man stated as he extended a hand.

"Pleasure to meet you as well. My name is Alpha and I have come here with my companions to help the Dovakhiin get to Miraak." Ryker replied as the rest of them introduced themselves.

Argneir raised an eyebrow and scratched the stubble on his chin.

"Miraak? Now, Dragonborn, is this because you want to prepare yourself for Graysheor?" he asked, receiving a nod from Ultima.

Argneir frowned and stepped away, huddling together with his fellow Greybeards. They seemed to be debating whether or not they should allow Ultima to go and it was a heated argument indeed.

"Do you think they'll help?" Vulcan asked his older brother.

 _Why wouldn't they? If Miraak isn't stopped now, Skyrim will fall under his control. Then, Graysheor will probably take over after getting rid of Miraak._ Balto replied.

Argneir and the Greybeards conversed for a short while longer before finally coming up with a decision. They walked back to the group and looked at Ultima with a stern look.

"We agree to help you on one condition. Ultima, and only Ultima, is allowed to go and face the First Dragonborn." Argneir announced.

Ultima looked at the rest of them with unease. However, that unease began to turn into hope as they began encouraging him with wide smiles.

"You can do this, Dovakhiin. Miraak won't stand a chance against you." Ally remarked with a tight fist.

"She's right. You trained for this, didn't you? Wouldn't want to be put through all of that again." Vulcan added with a small chuckle.

 _Yeah and you even got a bunch of training from the Greybeards. That should be more than enough to deal with Miraak._ Balto remarked.

Ultima smiled and looked at Aurora who gave him an encouraging smile.

"You can do this, Ultima. You just have to throw your fears aside and ignore the challenges." she told him as he looked at Ryker.

"Remember everything I taught you and you'll do just fine. I expect you to win, Ultima, so go do exactly that." Ryker announced as Ultima nodded and faced the Greybeards.

The four aged men in cloaks nodded before getting in a strange formation in the center of the room. They began an incantation and slowly, but surely, a purple portal with a bright light within appeared before them. However, there was a evil presence within, an ancient one that felt as if it was in slumber. Ultima gave the group another look before nodding and jumping into the portal.

 **Nether Plane**

Ultima looked around, finding nothing but purple swirling energies all over the area. He looked below him to find that there wasn't a floor though strangely he was standing as if there was one. He then shook his head and the daunting presence ahead of him. Surprisingly, it took him about ten minutes to finally reach his goal.

Ultima stood there, his eyes narrowed as he spotted an aged man with a golden mask. The man had thick armor on and radiated enormous magical energy. Ultima spotted a strange sword in the man's hand and also noticed a dragon flying above them in a circular path, as if waiting for a command.

Miraak turned around and scolded at Ultima, brandishing his green sword. The sword was short in length, only having a small hilt and a blade with a small length. The blade was actually green and looked like a tusk of a creature though it radiated with a dark energy.

"So, you've finally come, eh, Dragonborn?" Miraak spat, his words angry and placed with venom.

Ultima gathered his courage and readied himself, raising his greatsword and pointing it towards Miraak.

"I plan on defeating you, Miraak. First you then Graysheor." he growled as he readied himself.

Miraak roared with laughter, turning serious as he swung his sword at Ultima. Ultima barely had time to register the attack before a tentacle struck him on the shoulder, causing him to wince in pain. Miraak swung his sword again and this time, Ultima actually saw the blade of his opponent's sword extend and morph into a large tentacle. Still somewhat shocked, Ultima ducked to the side as the tentacle lashed across the ethereal plane of the void they were in.

Ultima snarled in determination as he rushed towards Miraak, at the same time wondering why the dragon above them hadn't attacked yet. Miraak took this small opportunity and sent large arcs of lightning from his palm at the Dragonborn. Ultima, however, saw the attack coming from the peripherals of his vision and simply threw up a strong magical ward, dispelling the lightning attack. He smirked at Miraak's surprised expression, one of which even had a hint of being impressed. Ultima dodged more bolts of lightning from Miraak, making sure his limbs weren't too stiff since it could cause his joints to lock up or slow his movements. As he slowly closed the distance between them, Miraak drove his sword into the ground, causing the area to rumble with a frightening magnitude.

Ultima skidded to a stop and exclaimed in surprise as tentacles sprouted from random spots, some of them barely missing him. The tentacles sprouted out of the ground like beings of undead in horror stories. Miraak cackled as Ultima was thrown into the air by a tentacle, his side bleeding from the powerful impact. Ultima regained his senses and recovered in midair, landing safely then sprinting off towards Miraak.

 _He seems to only attack me at a distance. If I get close to him, I'll hopefully gain the upper hand._ Ultima thought to himself as he ducked, allowing an arc of lightning to pass harmlessly above him.

Miraak growled as he sent more projectile attacks at Ultima, terrifyingly sharp icicles, shards of earth, and fireballs. Ultima successfully dodged or deflected most of them, though sustained a burn on his side and a small hole in his arm. However, he finally reached Miraak and swung his sword at the eldest Dragonborn. Miraak blocked the attack, grinding his teeth as Ultima began to overpower him, the latter being a heavier muscled man. Miraak then surprised Ultima by sending a freezing shock to Ultima's arm. This caused the younger man to grit his teeth as the shocking cold spread throughout his arm. Ultima retaliated by headbutting Miraak, the action sent pain to both of their heads.

The two of them reeled back, Ultima warming up his arm with a flame spell.

 _No one...damn...wins in a headbutt._ Ultima remarked to himself as he steeled himself against a charging Miraak.

Miraak swing his sword at Ultima, hoping that the tentacle would prove to be too much for Ultima to block or deflect. Ultima gritted his teeth as he braced himself for the attack, surprising the both of them as he raised his sword and held off the attack. The tentacle was relentless, forcing Ultima to lower himself and bend his knees under its force. Miraak bellowed with a piercing laugh, Ultima nearly slipping under the force of the tentacle. All of a sudden, Miraak jumped hack and ceased his attack as Ultima opened his mouth.

" _FUS RO DAH!"_ Ultima Shouted, a massive shockers emitted from his mouth as a result.

Miraak had a hard time keeping his footing as the Shout forced him back, nearly lifting him into the air. At that moment, Ultima ran forward and assaulted Miraak with a flurry of attacks, landing several slashes and such on the body of the First Dragonborn. Miraak seethed in fury as he felt the pain inflicted upon him, forcing Ultima back as he swung his sword at him. Miraak sneered at Ultima, his eyes showed a berserk kind of expression to them.

"Let me show you one of my personal favorites... _MUL QAH DIIV!"_ Miraak Shouted, his golden armor and mask becoming bathed in a bright light.

Ultima had no idea what the Shout did but he felt Miraak grow even more powerful. Miraak suddenly punched Ultima, sending the latter hurtling through the air. Miraak then sent fireballs at Ultima, effectively blackening the downed Dragonborn's armor and skin.

 _So it makes his attacks, both magical and physical, more powerful..._ Ultima thought painfully as he got up with a grunt.

Miraak then did the unexpected, something Ultima found unforgivable. Miraak turned his attention to the flying dragon above him and grinned wickedly, his wounds glistening with blood.

" _ZII LOS DII DU!"_ Miraak roared, the dragon above him seeming to whimper submissive before landing before them.

Ultima shivered as he translated the unique shout: _YOU SOUL IS NINETALES TO DEVOUR!_

The dragon started to glow as its soul was forcibly taken from its body, pouring into Miraak. Miraak began to cackle as his wounds healed and disappeared and the dragon's hide burning down to nothing. After a few moments, the dragon's skeleton laid before Miraak who simply smiled wickedly at Ultima.

"Come at me, I dare you." Miraak taunted, his voice laced with power.

Ultima felt a of his rage bubble up in his body. How could Miraak do such a thing?! Ultima gripped his sword tightly before getting into an offensive stance, the air around him seemed to pressurize as he powered up.

" _MUL QUH DAH!"_ Ultima Shouted, his body glowing with an ethereal light that seemed to glow more brightly than Miraak's.

Miraak sneered and pointed his sword at Ultima almost approvingly.

"Good. You learn fast." Miraak remarked as he barely blocked Ultima's attack.

The Dragon Aspect Shout gave Ultima the boost he needed, allowing him to stand on even grounds with the First Dragonborn. He didn't let up on his attacks, brutally attacking Miraak and not allowing the older man to get an opportunity to attack. Ultima was furious, his eyes open wide and the Dragon Aspect caused them to contract into slits. Miraak became worried, feeling his strength sap away little by little as Ultima continued to bash away with his greatsword. All of a sudden, Ultima pivoted and swung upwards, knocking Miraak's sword out of his grasp. Miraak paled and backed away as Ultima looked at him with a narrowed gaze.

Miraak then tried to summon a bolt of lightning but found that his Dragon Aspect Shout was already expired and his energy spent. He then stood rigid as Ultima's greatsword slid through his chest and out his back, Miraak's blood dripping profusely and his armor around Ultima's blade warped. Miraak finally registered what had happened and took a step back as Ultima withdrew his sword, a gaping hole now present in Miraak's chest.

"No... This can't be... I'm THE DRAGONBORN! " Miraak shouted as he felt his life force draining away.

He took a step forward and Ultima got in a defensive position but stopped as a portal full of... tentacles appeared before Miraak. The old man gasped in shock as a tentacle impaled him, lifting him off the ground.

 **"You have failed me, Miraak. You are not worthy to live on with my knowledge and power... Perish... "** a dark voice sounded as Miraak suddenly began to disintegrate, his soul as well as many other dragons souls were absorbed by Ultima who was still trying to comprehend what happened.

Miraak's skeleton laid there, smoking underneath the armor. The portal of tentacles came up to Ultima who raised his sword in defense. In response, the voice within the portal snorted with dissatisfaction and disappeared, leaving Ultima alone with the skeletons. Ultima, relaxing, walked up to the dragon's skeleton and lowered his head, praying to the dragon's soul within him for forgiveness. He then went over to Miraak's skeleton and stripped it of its armor, planning to use them as proof when he gets back. He also picked up Miraak's sword and recoiled, the sword giving off a dark energy that nearly made him drop it upon contact. He then looked up at a single point of light in the void and opened his mouth, preparing to Shout.

"ARGNEIR!"

 **High Hrothgar**

"Dovahkiin! Are you injured?!" Ally acclaimed as Ultima stepped out of the portal weakly.

Ultima got on one knee and coughed, throwing Miraak's armor and mask to the floor before them. He cracked a small smile and brushed Ally's hand away when she tried to check him for wounds.

"I did it. Miraak's gone." Ultima announced as relief spreaded throughout the entire group.

"Strange indeed." Argneir remarked as he picked up Miraak's sword, turning it about as he inspected it.

The next hour or so, Ultima explained to them what happened during his encounter with Miraak. He also informed them about a certain Daedric Prince who was involved with Miraak and was possibly pulling the strings then entire time. Ryker had an idea as to who it was bit didn't voice it, figuring that if the Prince didn't interfere any more then there was no need for them to get worked up about it. Argneir was shocked when Ultima mentioned the four word Shout used by Miraak but they were all comforted by the fact that the Shout will most likely be never used again.

They gathered at the table in the center of the temple, each taking a seat.

"How do you plan on finding Graysheor? He's an amazingly elusive Draugr." Argneir inquired as Ultima sat down.

Ultima frowned and got the gears in his head working, looking at the group for any suggestions. However, it seemed that they want to him his suggestions first before adding any input. Ultima returned his attention to the Greybeards and nodded, an idea forming in his head.

"Since he's a Draugr, the most powerful one apparently, the other Draugr must worship him in some kind of way, yes?"

They looked at each other, the Greybeards seemed to do all the talking. Ryker nodded in understanding, already figuring out what Ultima planned to do.

 _If Draugr do worship Graysheor, there's a chance that they have the information as to where he might be. Draugr do not occupy these lands... above ground anyways and being the legion of the undead, we can most likely find them in the major tomb sites around Skyrim. If we're lucky, we'll stumble across a tomb of which Graysheor can be found within._ Ryker thought to himself.

Aurora looked at him and smiled, knowing full well that her lover already had the plan laid out in his head.

Argneir finally finished talking with the rest of the Greybeards and returned his attention back to Ultima who was waiting patiently the entire time. Balto, having long since bored, began to doze off in his seat though this went completely unnoticed.

"Are you suggesting that we should dig around in the tombs around Skyrim and hope that we can find any information on Graysheor from the Draugr that occupy those areas?" the wizened man asked with incredulity.

Ultima nodded as Aurora gave Ryker a knowing look. Ryker caught her and they made eye contact, Aurora laughing to herself as Ryker silently chuckled. Ally and Vulcan caught this and wondered what was going on between the two.

"I am. If we can get some information out of those tombs, we can easily find where Graysheor is with no problems. The Draugr Kings or Deathlords _must_ have at least a piece of information as to where Graysheor hides. If we're lucky, we'll find him in one of the first tombs we'll search." Ultima replied as he grew more confident with his plan.

"So you actually _want_ to face Graysheor as soon as you can? Don't you want to maybe train a little bit more before you do?" Ally asked as the four Greybeards nodded in agreement.

"I agree with Ally. Graysheor is supposed to be more powerful than Miraak, right? From what you told us, you had a few issues with Miraak even on even grounds with him. You should consider what you're doing first before jumping at it." Vulcan added as Ally gave him a warm smile.

The small act made the younger Fenrir blush though it went unnoticed by the rest of the group save for Ally who giggled to herself. Ultima nodded to Vulcan's statement and looked down at the table. He nodded slowly and began formulating more plans to throw out.

This went on for a few hours, Ultima already proposed several operations and suggestions. Some of them actually sounded like a good idea but were dismissed when the Greybeards or Ally or Vulcan found a critical flaw in them. All the while, Ryker kept silent and seemed out of it, his hands clasped together and his eyes blank. Aurora noticed this and tried to get him to say something but to no avail. The two went completely unnoticed by the rest of them at the table.

"Dovakhiin, may I speak to you in private?" Ally asked, Stopping all conversation.

Ultima looked at her with curiosity and nodded, leading her away from the table and into the next room. Vulcan worried that there may be something wrong and nervously fidgeted with his hands as the Greybeards began to whisper to one another. In the next room, Ultima took a seat on a desk as Ally crossed her arms with a nervous expression upon her face.

"What is it that you need, Alduinera?" Ultima asked with concern, his eyes seemed to glow with worry.

"... Dovakhiin, I was wondering if... Well, as you know, Vulcan and the others are not from here and when Graysheor is taken down, they will leave right af-."

"So you're asking me to let you go with them if the chance ever arises?" Ultima interrupted, taking the words right out of her mouth.

Ally looked at him with surprise, wondering how long he had known about it. Ultima chuckled and rested a hand on her shoulder with a smile.

"I know you and Vulcan are a couple and I figured that you would want to go with them when they leave. Do you know if it's okay for you to go with them?" Ultima asked her.

Ally frowned and looked at the floor, genuinely unsure about the situation.

"I.. I don't know. That's why I'm asking you if I can go should it be okay for me to." she replied earning a small laugh from Ultima.

"Of course you can! Why ask me? I know you feel like it's your duty to protect me but I can handle myself. I appreciate it though that you worry this much about me." Ultima responded, putting a smile on Ally's face.

Back at the meeting room, Balto woke up and noticed Ryker's expression, recognizing it as being one of which Ryker makes whenever he's having an internal conflict with himself. Balto got off his chair and walked over to Aurora, he nudged her and she looked at him with a worried look.

 _So you noticed it too?_ he asked as Ultima and Ally walked back into the room, Vulcan relieved when Ally gave him a look of reassurance.

 _I do. I wonder what's going on in his head._ Aurora replied as they both gave Ryker a look of concern.

Ryker was completely out of it, oblivious to everything happening around him. Normally, he would be alert and if he were to be in deep thought, he would still be aware. However, this time, Ryker's senses were going crazy. He was completely focused on an oncoming presence that seemed to radiate a powerful pressure. He then paled as he figured out what it was, Aurora and Balto noticing it with concerned looks. Ryker suddenly got up and instantaneously appeared in front of Vulcan who jumped at the action. Ryker didn't bother explaining and instead, he grabbed Vulcan by the head and what happened next surprised them all.

Vulcan's eyes widened as Ryker absorbed all of the darkness, ALL darkness, type, attacks, aura, and all, from him. Ryker then absorbed the last bit before Vulcan fell back into his chair, suddenly feeling as if he wasn't a Fenrir anymore. At that moment, Ally rushed to Vulcan's aid.

"What did you do to him?!" she demanded as they were all surprised once more as the roof suddenly caved in.

The group took cover save for Ryker who stood there with a grave look. Everyone recovered and when the dust settled, Aurora widened her eyes in major surprise.

There stood a large and powerful being, one that seemed to match Ryker in terms of power. It had two large dragon-like wings and a red scorpion-like tail. The being had a well muscled body that resembled a lion as well as a golden mane that flowed around its head and neck. The being had a human-like face that glowed with a brilliant light and it resembled that of am aged man.

It was Lygon the Manticore, King of Light and leader of the Darkstalkers.

Lygon scanned the room, finding it full of people frozen with shock. His eyes raised in surprise as he saw Aurora but then his eyes fell on Ryker who looked back at him calmly. Lygon's eyes narrowed as he saw the powerful dark aura that Ryker gave off and he growled, several pools of light appeared around him. Creatures made of pure light crawled out of them and snarled at Ryker who was unfazed. Unbeknownst to Lygon, Ryker was actually suppressing his darkness and hoped that the Manticore didn't catch on.

"I am Lygon, King of Light, and I hereby arrest you for being a threat to all life. Dark One, submit and we'll have no problems." Lygon growled.

At that moment, the creatures of Light screeched and surrounded Ryker. They summoned barbed golden chains and the group winced as they wrapped around Ryker who grunted in pain. Aurora was enraged and was about to take a step forward but stopped when a golden flash radiated then dissipated as Jeanne revealed herself.

 _Fang! You must-!_ Jeanne started but stopped when she finally registered the scene before her.

Aurora gave Jeanne a look of confusion and wondered why Lygon was here.

"Lady Arceus! What is happening here?!" she demanded as the group, save for the Greybeards since they were put to sleep by Balto, looked at the white stag.

Jeanne grew grim and looked at Lygon.

 _Lord Feran, may I ask why you are here interfering with my subordinates' mission?_ she inquired.

Lygon growled and circled Ryker who remained silent, the Fenrir's wounds still bleeding.

"I'm here to apprehend this one. I felt his presence some time ago and it was only just now I've been able to finally pinpoint his location. Though, I wonder, why are you harboring such a being like this one? Surely you know this one is no human?" Lygon replied.

 _He is a Knight of Alph and Darkness is one of his abilities. It would only make sense that his presence reached you._

"Really? Well I'm convinced that what you said is not all there is to it with this one... I plan to take him to the Beacon and figure out what he is by all means necessary. He will also be imprisoned there for centuries to come." Lygon announced.

"No! You can't do that to him! You have no right to just come here and do such a ridiculous thing such as that!" Aurora shouted, her face showing anger and disagreement.

Lygon chuckled and gave her a cruel smile.

"It seems this one has you all wrapped around your finger. Do not worry, once I take him, you all will be released from his grasp. You included, Lady Arceus."

"But he's my mate!" Aurora retorted, surprising Ally, Ultima, and Lygon.

Lygon growled and swatted Ryker in the back of the head, making the latter spit up blood due to the force of the hit.

"I see. He brainwashed then raped you, is that it? I apologize for not apprehending him sooner. Do not worry, I will make sure this monster receives full punishment." Lygon replied, genuinely believing that Ryker is such an evil being.

Lygon's eyes then rested on Vulcan who seemed to bear a similar presence to Ryker but not quite for some reason. Lygon was about to take a step forward but Ryker suddenly growled, stopping him.

"It's true! I raped the Islingr Suicune and brainwashed the rest of them to not say a word. The rest of them, including Arceus, do not have anything to do with me. I simply liked toying around with them!" Ryker snarled, shocking them all and making Jeanne pale.

Lygon arched an eyeridge and looked at the rest of them, scanning them. He found that none of them emitted a darkness like Ryker did.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT! YOU DIDN'T DO-! " Aurora started but stopped when Ryker subtly gave her a shake of the head.

The others were still too shocked to say anything and were frozen.

"You see? That's how much I tortured her." Ryker added as Lygon looked at him with disgust.

"You will never see the outside world again... Lady Arceus, I'll take him off your hands. If you need me, I'll be at the Beacon." Lygon stated before looking at Vulcan for a final time then disappearing in a flash of golden light with Ryker and the minions.

Silence was all there was at that moment. Jeanne gave them all an apologetic look before finally sitting down.

"What the hell just happened?!" Vulcan snarled as he weakly got up for his chair.

 _Why did they take him?! He did nothing wrong!_ Balto exclaimed.

Jeanne looked at Aurora who was still trying to figure out the situation.

 _Lygon personally hunts down powerful beings of Darkness. He took Fang back to the Beacon to torture him for centuries._ Jeanne responded.

She then looked at Vulcan, genuinely surprised.

 _Though I wonder why didn't Lygon take you as well, Vulcan._ she added.

 _We got to get him back! I don't care if I have to fight that damned pompous asshole!_ Balto exclaimed.

 _You mustn't! They would imprison you as well._ Jeanne responded.

She then turned to see Aurora walking up to her.

"Why?" Aurora asked, tears escaping her eyes.

She then broke down and fell to her knees.

"Why did Ryker say those things? Why didn't he fight back? Why... " Aurora muttered as they grew silent.

 _That's easy. He wanted to protect you all._ Jeanne replied grimly.

They looked at her with questioning looks and she took a deep breath, preparing for an explanation.

 _If any of you were involved with him willingly, which you all were, Lygon would've taken and tortured you all as well._ she added.

Aurora looked at the floor, barely containing her anger and frustration. Jeanne then cleared her throat and continued.

 _Lygon is ruthless. If he deems you "unholy" Then he'll take you and imprison you for ages. Fang recently transformed into his true form so that most likely gave his presence away to the Manticore. I'm sorry to say this but we probably won't be able to see Fang again._

The others had trouble taking in the new information, Vulcan growled as he slammed his fist on the table. Suddenly, Balto growled as well as shot a beam of Light into the sky.

 _Let's go get him back._ he stated seriously.

 _I already told you that you can't! They'll take you away too._ Jeanne told him.

"Well we're not going down without a fight." Vulcan added as he got up from his chair with Ally's help.

He stood there for a moment and the others looked on with confused expressions. Vulcan looked confused as well then fell to his knees, looking at his body with panic.

"I-I can't transform! Why can't I transform?!" he panicked as his family brands glowed weakly.

Jeanne got up with sudden quickness and walked over to Vulcan, she inspected him then she scanned him much like Lygon did.

 _Did Fang do anything to you before he left?_ Jeanne asked with a grim tone.

"He absorbed something from Vulcan right before Lygon came." Ally answered for Vulcan who began to realize what happened.

Jeanne nodded then looked at Vulcan with a nod of her head.

 _There's no doubt about it. Vulcan, your older brother absorbed your Darkness as well as sealed your remaining powers to prevent Lygon from noticing you. You won't be able to transform until you get your powers back._ she explained, earning shocked gasps from them.

Vulcan looked down at the floor and clenched his fists which were shaking with fury. He then sat back down and buried his face in his hands.

"Always protecting us no matter the cost, eh, Ryker?" he muttered, loud enough for the rest of them to hear.

 _"Ryker"? So that's his name... If only I could help them._ Ally thought to herself as she hugged Vulcan in comfort.

Balto growled and began to destroy things around the room, Ultima getting up in disagreement and trying to stop the wolf's rampage. Aurora, finally somewhat calmed down, looked at Jeanne with burning eyes.

"So what do we do now? If we can't get him back then what else could we do?" she asked, her voice nearly breaking.

Jeanne shook her head, a small tear escaping her eye as well. She went over to Aurora and hugged her, surprising the Islingr Suicune though to Aurora, she felt that she actually needed one.

 _I'm afraid all we could do is wait. We'd be lucky if Lygon even allows us to come and see him._ Jeanne responded.

Aurora felt like she was going to break down right there.

 **A slow hour later...**

"Are you sure it's alright for me to go?" Ally asked Vulcan, a little nervous though happy at the same time.

Vulcan smiled warmly and nodded, looking at Jeanne for confirmation. Jeanne looked at Ally with a smile and nodded and Ally beamed. She then turned around and walked slowly up to Ultima with a small smile.

"I'm going to be going now, Dovahkiin. Will you be fine without me? I can stay if you want." Ally asked, concerned for Ultima.

Ultima chuckled and pointed to the four unconscious Greybeards.

"Don't worry about me, Ally, I have some allies to help and I have my own strengths too you know." he replied whilst hugging her.

Ally smiled and returned the hug but then blushed as Ultima whispered something into her ear.

"Make sure you notify me when you have little drakes running around, yeah?" he asked her with a chuckle.

Ally let out a small shout then pushed Ultima away playfully before nodding and rejoining the departing group. Jeanne looked at her group and gave a small nod before opening a portal. She went through it and the others turned around and waved farewell to Ultima who waved back. They all stepped through and reappeared in The Hall of Origins, Darko was waiting for them on the other side.

 _I'm glad you all made it back safely._ he told them in a low tone, arching an eyeridge at Ally.

He was then quickly filled in by Jeanne and nodded, leading them down a hallway.

 _As you know, Lord Alpha Fang has been taken into custody by Lygon._ Darko began, earning nods from them.

Darko led them inside a chamber and asked them to seat themselves around a large crystal orb of which glowed with a gentle light.

 _Lygon has taken him to the Beacon... chances are we won't be seeing him ever again._ Darko added before activating the orb.

The orb glowed with a bright light and when it dimmed down, revealed Ryker walking in golden barbed shackles towards a brilliant glowing glass tower, The Beacon. Behind him, the Manticore walked with pride and his minions all screeched annoyingly.

"You will never see the sun ever again." Lygon remarked as he shoved Ryker to walk faster.

Ryker simply stayed quiet and smiled, surprising the others. He then gave a small chuckle before speaking in a low voice.

 _"Do not worry. Stay together and look out for one another."_ Ryker said in Umbralupinese before the orb suddenly cracked and the scene before them disappeared.

They looked at each other in shock before letting a few tears fall for the captured leader. Aurora suddenly stood up and walked up to Jeanne, her tone serious and laced with hidden anger.

"Lady Arceus, I would like to ask for a small vacation." she said before she transformed.

Jeanne recognized Aurora's tone of voice and cooked her head at an angle.

 _May I ask what for?_ Jeanne inquired with small confusion as the others looked at Aurora.

Aurora walked out of the chamber and stopped before walking out of view.

 _I need time to train and think to myself._ she told her before leaving.

They felt the air around them suddenly become slightly warmer and Darko shook his head with a smile.

 _I know this might sound a little farfetched but I think we're going to see Lord Fang in the future._ he told them before silently cursing to himself as he began to fix the scrying orb.

 **With Aurora...**

Aurora sighed as she went through her things at the cave. Sprawled out before her were the gifts she accumulated over the years. She found that most of them came from Ryker and smiled sadly, silently vowing to herself that she will FREE Ryker... no matter what it takes...

 **With Ryker...**

"Since you're not talking, you're going to stay in here for the rest only your days." Lygon announced with a threatening tone.

Ryker simply stayed quiet and looked at himself. They were at the deepest confines of The Beacon and Ryker was placed in a large cell with no openings that allowed any view of the outside. He was shackled to a wall, his arms raised to the corners of the ceiling and his legs binded together behind him to the floor. The cuffs around his wrists and ankles had spikes on the inside of them, to prevent him from pulling on them without first puncturing his skin. There were giant clasps around his chest that had a mechanism that will tighten around him the more he resisted, the more he would resist then the more the wicked sharp blades on the straps dig into him. Around his neck was a collar-like clasp that was lined with shotgun shells that were connected by small hammers that would fire the bullets if he tried removing them. Finally, above him, was a large scythe that would drop if he moved from his spot.

He looked at Lygon calmly, the Manticore sneering at him cruelly before spitting at the floor before the Fenrir. He then turned around and walked away, closing the large set of steel double doors behind him. The light in the cell then went away, leaving Ryker in inky black darkness. Ryker smiled and let out a deep sigh, saddening when he thought of Aurora and the others. He them closed his eyes and calm himself, letting the darkness around him envelop him like a blanket. This was his element. This was his comfortability.

This was him.


	21. Chapter 5 (DR)

**"Trapped in submission,**

 **Submerged in this condition,**

 **Trapped in a shell,**

 **I wish I could quell.**

 **To be free is a dream,**

 **To have what I desire is a wish.**

 **Where can I go,**

 **Where will this path lead,**

 **From this shell I'll never grow,**

 **From this body I won't stop to bleed.**

 **Running with the Pack,**

 **An impossible dream,**

 **A most wanted wish.**

 **This shell hiding the beast inside,**

 **I walk in skin,**

 **He talks to me as a guide,**

 **He is my friend, my opposite, my twin.**

 **For him to break free,**

 **What a day that would be,**

 **Until...I abide,**

 **Always there yet he hides inside.**

 **The burning sensation,**

 **To howl,**

 **To run,**

 **To feel the fascination.**

 **Though I feel no fur,**

 **Scratch no claws,**

 **Run no forest,**

 **Howl no song.**

 **My dreams keep me in fascination,**

 **They drive the sensation,**

 **The wolf inside keeps me alive,**

 **The call of the wolf makes me thrive."**

 **Chapter 5: Isolation**

 **"Now look, I'm trapped here and I'll most likely die here by the hands of that damned Manticore."** Alpha said in a calm tone though with hidden anger.

"I know that but if I think about it, I'm keeping them safe. I'm no longer hanging around them and I made sure Vulcan wouldn't get notice by Lygon either." Ryker replied.

 **"... Are you trying to conquer me? My Darkness? I know that it thrives for eternity, nothing can tame it." Alpha shot back.**

"I know I am and I'm getting close to succeeding as well. I know that and there's nothing I can do to stop me." Ryker retorted with a small growl.

 **"... *small chuckle* So I've finally got over my fear of me? I've learned to embrace it?"**

"... Yes. Embrace it? Not yet... This is not the time."

 **".. I see. I'll wait for me to be ready."**

The shadowy aura around Ryker suddenly died down a bit, the room lost its sinister presence. He then sighed and looked up at the dark ceiling, seeing for the umpteenth time nothing but cobwebs and dust. He then closed his eyes, like many of the times he did over the two years there in The Beacon. He lightly shook his head, his hair in the way of his eyes. His hair was now longer since he wasn't able to cut it. It reached down to a little passed his shoulders. He had a light beard on his face and his mustache remained just the right amount. His goatee ended in s spike tip pointing up to his lip.

Lygon suddenly walked in, his mane neatly trimmed and his fur coat shining with brilliance. He looked at Ryker, impressed that the black haired man still retained his muscle mass over the two years he was here. He was impressed with him, yes, but he was frustrated at the same time. What is he? Why does this man have so much darkness? Lygon shook his head and stood in front of Ryker with a stern look.

"Will you tell me what you are? Two years of silence must be boring, isn't it?" the Manticore asked with frustration.

Ryker remained silent. He didn't even look at the Manticore nor did he acknowledge his presence. Lygon growled then suddenly roared, his pent-up frustration over the two years finally reached the boiling point. He then have Ryker a furious look and bared his teeth.

"If you won't talk to me, DON'T BOTHER TALKING AT ALL FOR THE REST OF YOU LIFE!" Lygon roared before he suddenly bit down in Ryker's neck and tore the Fenrir's throat out.

Ryker was surprised that the Manticore would resort to this. Either way, he was in great pain now. Ryker doubled over, silently screaming in pain. Lygon spat out the flesh and smiled before leaving the cell, knowing full well that a simple wound like that wouldn't kill Ryker. Ryker remained there, becoming drenched in his own blood. He then willed himself to sleep, being out of it took away the pain.

Lygon walked down the hallway, wiping the blood off his lips. He turned another corner and walked into a room full of many beings of Light, all of them powerful and of noble status. Surrounding them was the guard, hundreds of warriors that would lay down their lives for the Manticore. This was his army, one that will bring the end to all dark beings that pose a threat to the world.

They were the Darkstalkers.

 **With Vulcan and Ally...**

"Wait up for me, Vulcan!" Ally shouted with a smile as she ran after the running Fenrir.

Ally had her hair grow longer so now it was braided into a tail. Her side bangs, however, were left alone and were covering her eyes a bit. She had only a tank top on and jean shorts on. Up ahead, Vulcan stopped running and smiled, surprising her as he caught her and twirled her around in the sir before setting her down.

Vulcan had short spiked hair, much like Balto's in the wolf's human form. He had a small light beard growing and he grew a little in muscle mass..also similar to Balto in human form. Vulcan smiled as Ally gave him a kiss on the cheek. He responded by hugging her and nibbling her ear, earning small giggles from her. They were in a large field some ways away from Mt. Moon. Vulcan and Ally had decided to go for a small jog in the afternoon, the former more enthusiastic than the latter.

"Wasn't that refreshing?" Vulcan asked as they sat down to rest.

Ally rolled her eyes and huffed tiredly as she leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Oh, yeah. Real refreshing." she replied sarcastically as she gave him a kiss.

He growled huskily as they exchanged saliva with each other, Ally moaning as he massaged her back. They withdrew as the sound of pawsteps drew nearer. The two turned around to see Balto walking up to them with a smile, his golden glowing tattoos that lined the left side of his body flared in brightness as he chuckled. Next to him, Jenna smiled as a small pup with a sandy gray coat and a slightly lighter in color underbelly ran up from behind her. The pup had bluish eyes like her grandfather and she had a small birthmark on the inside of her thigh.

 _Mom? Dad? Can we get something to eat soon?_ Aleu asked, hungry.

Being only about a year and a half old, she's not that far from being fully mature. However, in human years, she's like a teenager. Balto chuckled as he nuzzled his daughter lightly, that act of which Aleu became fond of.

 _Of course, Aleu, just let me talk to your uncle first, alright?_ he asked, earning a nod from her.

Jenna led Aleu to Mt. Moon where they plan on visiting Aurora in the summit. Balto turned around with a small chuckle before facing Vulcan and Ally once more.

 _Were we interrupting something?_ he asked with a laugh as he sat down on his haunches.

Vulcan nodded as Ally shook her head with a laugh. Balto laughed at them and was immediately embraced by a small hug from the two.

"Visiting, brother?" Vulcan asked as his older brother gave them a small smile.

 _What else? Aleu wanted to see his uncle and aunties today and you know how I can't say no to her._ Balto answered with a chuckle.

"She's grown so much since we last saw her." Ally commented as the two nodded in agreement.

 _Well you know us canines. We fully mature at the age of three which is adulthood in human years. Now, since we're immortals, we fully mature at the age of five but that's not that big of a difference. Really though, she's learned so much already._ Balto replied as he stretched.

He then looked up at the summit of the mountain and gestured towards it.

 _Aleu loves hanging around Aurora and she loves it even more when we are all grouped together. That daughter of mine, I love her so much._ Balto added as they heard the sound of wings flapping all about.

They turned around to see Aleu hopping around excitedly with her mother smiling and Aurora landing next to them.

 _She's here!_ Aleu cheered in a sing-song tone.

Aurora evolved once more, except this time, permanently. Her current form was her last evolution and it was due to intense training, physical and mental, that led to her change in appearance and power. She now had two more tails though they were made entirely out of water that flowed in a ribbon-like motion. Her other two tails in between her water ones were made entirely out of dry ice and they too flowed like ribbons. Her fur coat was mainly white though her sides were blue as was her underbelly. She no longer had diamond patterns but instead, black wave patterns lined with blue that covered her legs, sides, and back. Her wings had rays of light in between the feathers which were made of crystal ice as well. Shockingly, she had two more wings, slightly smaller in size, that rested underneath her large wings. Aurora's mane remained the same though she now had a longer and lusher mane that ended a little past her rump. Her neck still had the two ribbon-like extensions that flowed but they gave off light flashes every now and then. The rest of her body remained the same save for the blue lines that lined her body. They now branched into more lines though of light which was also present in her mane. Aurora also had small dry ice crystal spikes, one on each side, sprouted on the sides of her face that curved back gracefully.

Aurora smiled at them and sat on her haunches, her four wings furled in and her mane slowing a bit in its flow.

 _Good afternoon, everyone._ she announced, her voice melodious though not as much as it was a couple of years back.

Everyone brightened at the sight of her. Vulcan yawned and stretched, playfully pushing Ally away in the process to which she responded by slapping his arm.

"Let's all go out and get something to eat." he suggested as he got up from his spot.

 _I'll help hunt._ Balto offered, preparing to run off.

"No, let's go to a restaurant. No hunting this time." Vulcan added, much to their surprise.

They looked at him as he pulled out a wallet and waved it in the air with a smile.

"I'm buying." he announced.

 **About half an hour later...**

They were at a restaurant in Pewter City, a five-star one to boot. There were fancy decorations all over the wall that would make one feel extremely pompous. Seated at a large table some ways away from the others, the group were all in their human forms and each had a menu in their hands.

Aleu had silver hair in her human form like her father, her eyes bright and cheery as they matched her hair color. She had the appearance of a teenager and was only 5'11" in height. She wore a shirt and jacket complete with nice jeans that hugged her legs.

Though they already had their menus up, they were still waiting for Aurora to arrive. She separated from them at Mt. Moon to prepare herself for the happy occasion. A waiter pulled up to their table and bowed formally, a smile plastered on his face.

"May I take your orders?" he asked with a friendly tone.

"We are actually still waiting on someo-Oh, nevermind, she's right there." Ally responded with a gesture towards the entrance.

They turned to see Aurora, in human form, walk in with nice casual clothing. She had a long sleeve shirt, blue in color, and wore earnings to match. Her hair was giving off a healthy shine as it hung to a little bit passed her rump. She also were a modest skirt and black boots to finish it off. Her bracelets and anklets were present and her necklace shined with brilliance as it reflected light.

Onlookers noticed how her hair matched her sapphire blue eyes, the light blue streaks complimented the golden ones. Her fair and slightly pale skin beamed (though not literally, mind you) with a healthy sheen and though she was wearing casually clothes, they suited her as if she was a model.

"Sorry for the holdup, everyone. I hope I didn't make you all wait too long." she said as she took a seat in between Jenna and Vulcan.

"Its alright, we didn't have to wait that much." Balto replied for them as Aurora looked at her menu.

After a minute or so, the waiter took their orders and left, returning later with glasses of water for them. All the while, the group was having conversations with each regarding various subjects. Aurora and Jenna talked about raising children and the rest of them about something regarding a man who recently abused his wife in a elevator. They didn't have to wait long for their food as it came only about ten minutes later. They thanked the waiter and began eating their hearty meal, Aurora ate a bit slower than them but went unnoticed.

"What I'm trying to say is, *gulp*, that if he denies all charges and claims to have only slapped her, then at least make the lie believable when they're going to show the footage." Balto commented as he took another bite from his turkey.

"Even then though, he still walked away innocent from court. Apparently, his wife provoked him and struck first but I still think that he should've been put away." Vulcan responded with a small shake of the head.

"I know, a punch to the face doesn't equal a small slap to the cheek." Balto remarked as he took a sip from his water.

"Isn't she a popular singer around there?" Alex suddenly asked as she wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"She is actually, but they're going to have a hard time covering that up with makeup." Vulcan replied.

"I'm sure they will. After all, look at what makeup does to movie actors like that one octopus head guy from that movie. He had TENTACLES hanging from his face." Ally interjected with a small laugh.

Jenna licked the small bit of mashed potatoes on the corner of her mouth and gave Aurora another look of amusement.

"Raising her wasn't hard at all. You just have to know what she wants when she cries and when it's time to hunt, have the man do it." Jenna said with a small giggle at her statement.

"I'm surprised at how fast Aleu learned how to communicate. Her vocabulary is pretty broad too." Aurora remarked as she looked at the daughter of the Whites.

"I know what you mean. We didn't have to try that hard to teach her how to speak mentally and physically when she could."

Aurora nodded with a smile and took another bite from her meal, enjoying its flavor as well as its warm homemade kind of feeling. She looked around the restaurant, finding it full of happy people and boisterous tables. She smiled sadly as she spotted a nice looking couple walk passed their table.

 _If only you were here, Ryker... I'll see to it myself that they'll release you._ she thought with newfound determination.

All of a sudden, a couple of surprised yells sounded near the entrance of the restaurant. The group turned their heads to spot two masked men, each armed with rifles, yelling out orders to the people.

"GET DOWN TO THE GROUND AND EMPTY YOUR PURSES AND WALLETS NOW!" one of them commanded as he fired a round into the ceiling, scaring everyone but the group within.

All of the frightened people shakily got up from their tables and crouched low to the ground. They dumped all of their cash and cards onto the floor and some even took of their jewelry as well. The two men laughed with cruel smiles as they walked passed the people, filling their burlap bags with the money and jewelry at every table. However, when they reached the group's table, they found that Aurora and the others were still seated and calmly eating their food.

"Hey! Are you guys deaf or something? GET DOWN TO THE DAMN GROUND!" one of the man shouted as he grabbed Aurora's arm.

That was the wrong thing to do.

Without even getting up from her seat, Aurora grabbed the man's wrist with lightning speed and with one fluid motion, snapped it. The man shouted in pain then aimed the gun at her but Aurora simply took her unused fork and threw it at him, earning screams of agony as the fork buried itself into the man's eye. The other man, enraged, raised his gun in attempt to knock Aurora in the back of the head. However, Vulcan calmly grabbed the gun and broke it with one hand, the barrel of the ground falling uselessly onto the floor. Vulcan then took his lobster's claw, snapped it, and threw it at the man's stomach. The man groaned in pain as the claw sunk into his stomach and feverishly wished that his stomach lining wouldn't tear. At that moment, both men fell to the floor in pain as the people of the restaurant cheered at the group happily.

 **Mt. Moon...**

 _Well that went without a hitch_. Aleu announced with a small chuckle as they rested in the cave.

 _They really asked for it._ Balto added as he laid next to her and his mate.

"I don't know... I kind of feel bad for them with what happened to that guy's eye and the other guy's stomach and all." Vulcan remarked as he leaned against Ally's belly.

 _Stop feeling bad for them. You're way too nice._ the dragoness told him as she nuzzled him lovingly.

 _Besides, I heard those two were a couple of the city's most wanted men._ Aurora added, looking at Jenna who yawned.

 _Whatever the case, eating then excitement makes me drowsy._ Jenna remarked with a smile, earning laughter from the rest of them.

 **A few days later, at the Beacon...**

Lygon walked into the cell, a sneer present on his face. He looked at Ryker who had long since regained regained consciousness and stopped bleeding.

"How's the throat?" Lygon asked mockingly as he nudged Ryker with a paw.

Ryker simply ignored him and looked at the ceiling, deciding to distract himself by counting the many black spots on it. Lygon growled and brought up a control panel labeled with many tags to specific buttons.

"You know, I could just kill you right now!" Lygon remarked as he flipped a switch.

The shotgun shells around on Ryker's collar suddenly pointed to the Fenrir's head, arming themselves with their hammers pulled back at the ready. Ryker, however, wasn't fazed by this and continued to ignore the Manticore. Lygon growled at this and flipped back the switch, smiling as he pressed a button. The binds around Ryker suddenly charged with electrical energy and began to electrocute Ryker with volts similar to the amount charged by a few hundred Pikachu. Ryker responded by inwardly groaning in pain and hanging his head limply to the ground. Lygon smirked, thinking that he had successfully broken the prisoner's spirit. His smirk then disappeared as Ryker looked up and gave him a terrifying glare, the sclera of his eyes black and his white flaming irises seemed to amplify the effect. Lygon took a step back before scoffing and leaving the cell, allowing Ryker to dwell within his own thoughts peacefully. If one were to look at Ryker's neck, one would see that it was already healing with only a few traces of the gruesome incident.

Lygon returned to his resting quarters and sighed, weary and ready to sleep. However, his mirror caught his eyes and he walked up to it. He stated at his reflection for a while and shook his head, rubbing his eyes and fixing his mane.

 _Why does he not do anything? Am I missing something here? Usually, dark beings like him would try to attack or escape by now. That one though... he remained mute and didn't try anything for two years... Could he be planning something?_ Lygon thought to himself before walking over to his bear and laying down on it.

After a few minutes, he fell asleep and began to snore like that of a lion in his den... which he kind of was.

 **With the group...**

 _So he finally gave us permission to see him?_ Aurora asked hopefully.

Jeanne and Darko nodded and Aurora felt like she needed to go see Ryker right at that moment. Balto and Vulcan celebrated on a small scale while Jenna and Ally tried to explain why Ryker was to Aleu.

 _Lygon will have someone escorts us to him. When we see him, try not to do anything that will give him a reason to lock you up as well._ Darko warned before opening a portal to the Beacon.

They all stepped in warily and when the reached the other side, found a burly Taurus that snorted at their arrival. They were in a circular room full of Lygon's guards and lackeys. There were many hallways and doors so they wondered how one kept track of everything.

 _Right this way._ the Taurus stated as he led them down a hallway.

He led them down the hallway for what seemed like hours but was only about fifteen minutes. As they walked, the group looked around and spotted many cells and torture rooms containing prisoners that were incarcerated.

 _Is this really the Sanctuary of Light?_ Aurora thought as they turned another corner.

They passed another cell where one could see a heavily-starved shiny Umbreon with blue eyes. At that moment, Aurora recognized him. The Umbreon was Nyx, once a great Ally and friend to Jeanne. However, his power was unique and it drew the attention of Lygon who came and arrested the poor Umbreon. Aurora saddened when she saw him, remembering that he was a great friend to her brothers as well.

 _I'll free you too, Nyx. You and Ryker..._ Aurora thought to herself.

The others recoiled at the many gruesome sights of the prisoners in their cells. There were many there that were starving or screaming, all of them beyond help due to Lygon. Some of them didn't even have ill intent, as Aurora noticed being someone of Light, and were suffering for no reason. Finally, the burly Taurus stopped in front of a large set of double doors. This was possible the biggest and most heavily guarded cell in the Beacon. All around, there were guards with weapons aimed at the ready. One could see hundreds of locking mechanisms on the door and even locking mechanisms on the mechanisms! They turned to see Lygon walking up to them with a grim smile. Aurora barely restrained herself from attacking him but knew that wasn't a smart idea. She would have to face one of the strongest beings in the world in a heavily armed fortress full of strong beings as well. Her chances of succeeding would be low.

"Please give me a moment." Lygon told them as he stepped in front of the door.

He suddenly reared back his head and blasted a beam of pure light into a miniscule hole in the door. All of the locks began to quickly unlock and it took about a minute before the doors finally swung open. Lygon gestured them to follow him in and smiled with confidence.

"I'm sure you'll find this to your liking. This chamber has been fitted to the point where the prisoner could not make mental contact or attacks against anyone here nor could he move without his binds damaging him even further. Please, be careful when we are near him." Lygon announced as he opened another set of doors.

Aurora nearly broke down.

They saw Ryker beaten, bruised, and bloody all over chained to the walls and ground. They saw the binds and how they were made to injure him on any attempts to escape. They also saw the large scythe above his head and the shotgun death trap around his neck. His neck was also quite noticeably caked with dry blood and they found that his clothes were on the floor in torn rags, leaving him in only pants.

 _What did you do to him?_ Jeanne asked with hidden shock.

"Well, we've beaten him, picked at him, tore at him, and much more. I recently tore out his throat and electrocuted him but as you can see, he's still alive." Lygon replied as he lifted Ryker's head.

Balto and Vulcan had to bite their tongues to prevent growling and Ally was looking at the ground with furious eyes. Aurora gripped the ground and had to force herself to be calm to prevent herself to cause another ice age.

"Looks like I shocked him worse than I thought. His eyes are glazed over." Lygon added as he opened the sleeping Fenrir's eyes.

Ryker was blind.

Aurora swore to herself not to tear up and she found it increasingly hard to. All of a sudden, much to all of their surprise, Ryker's head snapped up to attention, his nose wrinkling as he took in their scents. Lygon had no idea what he was doing though the rest of them knew. Aleu looked at Ryker and found that he was a scary person but for some reason, she knew he was a nice person and wouldn't do anything to hurt them. Ryker's heart rate quickened as he noticed that it was indeed them, wishing he could see them with his own eyes.

He then smiled.

 _"It's nice to be around you all again. Please, let me talk and do not respond since doing so may imprison you all as well."_ Ryker told them as he coughed up blood due to his throat injury as well as misuse.

"What?! What is he saying?!" Lygon roared as he called in more guards.

 _"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for putting you all in danger those many times. I also want to thank you for giving me a chance to redeem myself when I thought I could no longer be saved... I love you all and please, my family, don't come back here again for it could very well mean you could end up like me... And remember to behave for you mother and father, Aleu."_ Ryker told them weakly as he cracked another smile.

At this, Aleu began to cry and her parents looked at the rest of them in shock. They then looked at Ryker and teared up as well, the sight making Vulcan and Ally begin to cry and the two Arceus sadden. Aurora was already crying the moment Ryker began talking. She couldn't take it. She then gasped as Lygon ordered some of his guards to beat Ryker. Blows landed and grunts of pain sounded from Ryker who gave them a small smile before the doors closed on them, cutting them off from him.

 _Do not worry, I can tell that the monster in there said something horrible to you all. I'll make sure Lord Feran gives him a proper beating. Now, it's time for you all to go._ the Taurus stated.

At that moment, Darko opened another portal and the group reluctantly walked through it. As soon as they did, Aurora took off and left the area, leaving them to themselves at the Hall of Origins.

 _Is she going to be okay?_ Aleu asked with worry, wiping away a tear that escaped from one of her eyes after meeting her uncle.

Jeanne looked at the ground where a crystal ice feather slowly floated to the floor, one being of part of Aurora's wings.

 _Just give her some time._ she replied as they dispersed.

Darko and Jeanne went down a hallway and entered their chamber. Darko sighed as he looked around their room, relics of sorts were already piling up due to Jeanne's lack of organization. He chuckled at the thought of her begging Vulcan to help her clean up then suddenly froze. Jeanne noticed this and looked at him with confusion, wondering what was the matter. She noticed that his eyes were fixed on a certain area in their room. She turned and saw that he was staring at a lone shadow in the corner. Her eyes widened as she looked at it closer.

The shadow wasn't cast by anything, it's form bearing no resemblance to the objects within their room. It flowed with a fluid movement like a small flame. Jeanne then noticed that the objects in her room that actually did cast shadows had the same fluid shadow with a random form. Suddenly, the shadows turned back to normal, bearing forms that actually match the objects that casted them. However, it only lasted for a few minutes before they changed back to abnormal forms only to revert back to normal every few minutes.

 _The shadows... If it's what's I think it is.._ Darko finally stated, a little unnerved.

 _The shadows are brewing, waiting for their master to rise..._ Jeanne added with a slow nod.

 **With Aurora...**

 _DAMN IT!_ Aurora exclaimed as she blasted a large rock away with a beam of light.

She looked at a few trees and growled again, her anger getting the better of her.

 _DAMN IT!_ she reiterated as she froze them and reduced them to no more than small shards of ice.

She then turned around and snarled to face the mountain. She took a few seconds to look at it before finally bearing her fangs and growling.

 _DAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMN IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!_ she howled before charing a beam a light directed at the mountain.

She was then suddenly held back by a another, the being having brown fur and a bright red mane.

 _Aurora! Calm the hell down! You can't go around aiming to destroy mountains!_ Entei shouted as she thrashed about.

Raikou appeared as well and aided his brother in restraining Aurora.

 _He's right, sister! You mustn't do that!_ he added as he too held back Aurora from obliterating one of the many amazing sights of Kanto.

Aurora began tearing up and tried to break away from her brothers. Entei and Raikou began using all their strength to pull her back, barely succeeding as the beam of light charged in Aurora's maw escaped and shot into the sky, missing the mountain by mere inches. The beam tore through the clouds and soared out of the atmosphere before finally dispersing with a flash.

 _Leave me alone! Leave me alone! Damn it! Damn it..._ Aurora bawled as she started to slowly calm down.

She soon stopped struggling and her brothers looked at each other with uncertainty. Aurora then turned around and laid onto the floor, silently sobbing.

 _I want him back... He didn't do anything wrong... Why can't they let Ryker go?..._

Entei laid next to her as did Raikou, both deeply concerned about their sister.

 _Ryker... is that his name, Aurora?_ Entei asked her as he rested his chin on her shoulder as comfort.

 _... He let me know his name out of his trust for me... He cares for all of us and protected us with all of his might so why did Lygon take him?_ she responded as she leaned against her brother for comfort.

They stayed silent for a while before her tears finally stopped falling. She then gave a small smile to the both of them, warming them to their very core.

 _Pyro... Rayden... If something dearly important to you was taken away, what would you do? If that special something was your everything... Please answer truthfully._ she told them with an unreadable expression.

 _What do you mean by that?_ Rayden asked.

 _... Your EVERYTHING._ she restated with emphasis, implying for a deeper meaning behind the term.

Pyro and Rayden looked at each other with confusion then back at Aurora, both suddenly turning Stern and confident.

 _I'd go and take it right back, no matter what it takes._ Pyro said with conviction.

 _I agree. I'd even go as far as risk my life to get it back. There is nothing in the world that would stop me._ Rayden added with equal emotion.

Aurora didn't say anything for a moment before smiling once more and getting up.

 _Thank you both so much. That cleared up my mind quite a lot._ she told them before shaking her head.

 _I'm sorry for leaving so quickly but I have to go do something. I'll make it up to you two later though!_ Aurora told them with a smile before taking off.

The two below looked at each other with triumphant smiles. They nodded at each other then began to leave, their mission to console their sister successful.

 _What do you think that question was all about, brother?_ Rayden asked, his cool and calm expression novice compared to The Alpha.

Entei shrugged his shoulders and continued walking with a wide smile.

 _I don't know but we did make our 'sis happy, didn't we?!_ he replied with laughter, his mood outrageously bright.

They walked for another few seconds before a sudden, daunting realization hit them like a ton of bricks... No... Like an avalanche of Wailmer when they thought about the question she gave them with more depth.

 _FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!_ they screamed with horror ridden expressions.

 **With the Pack...**

 _That's madness! Even I know that storming Lygon's fortress is suicidal!_ Aniu exclaimed as Aurora slightly chuckled at the wolf goddess's expression.

 _Be that as it may, I'm still planning to do it. To take Ryker back and give them what for._ Aurora replied in a nonchalant tone.

 _You are almost as impractical as Vulcan!_ Balto remarked with wide eyes.

"Hey, I resent that remark!" Vulcan shouted from outside, Balto's comment apparently reached his ears.

Vulcan then walked inside the cave, Ally following him in, and gave Aurora a smile.

"Anyways, since you're planning on going then I am too. I can't just sit this one out, especially when it comes to saving my brother." he added whilst wrapping an arm around his sister's shoulders.

Aurora smiled and looked at the rest of them.

 _Anyone else? I understand that it's dangerous so you don't have to go if you don't want to._

She looked around, the group remained silent as they considered her offer. Suddenly, Balto shook his head with a small chuckle and walked up to Aurora, giving her a small shove with his paw.

 _He still owes me for shooting me in the face back at the army base._ Balto remarked as he stretched.

Jenna got up from her spot as well and sat by Balto's side.

 _He's my brother too therefore I'll gladly help... not that I wouldn't if he wasn't of course._ she added.

Aleu was about to sit beside them as well but a subtle shake of the head from Jenna told her not to.

Rasha was next and so was Grey, both of them taking their spots by Aurora with wide grins.

 _Children, I expect you three to be on best behavior with Aleu until we get back._ Rasha commented as the four pouted.

Ally, who was already by Vulcan's side, smiled at the four.

"Don't worry. You can hang out with your uncle all you want when we get him back." she added to Rasha's earlier statement.

They all looked at Demon who smiled as he nodded, affirming that he will take part of the operation. Aniu simply sighed and gave a small smile.

 _I would help too but that would mean the children would be defenseless. Still though, should Demon and I retire, who else would take over the pack? Surely Balto wouldn't be able to handle it._ she joked.

 _Hey!_ Balto interjected as they all began to laugh.

 _So, what's the plan?_ Demon asked, already excited for whatever is coming next.

Aurora was about to speak but was interrupted as a flash of golden light occurred, revealing it to be Jeanne who gave them all a stern look.

 _You shouldn't go through with this. Lygon would see it as heresy and arrest you all._ she warned.

Aurora smiled and gave Jeanne a rebellious look.

 _I'm taking my mate back no matter what. Lygon is simply an obstacle that I would have to overcome._ she shot back, earning an exasperated sigh from Jeanne who eventually smiled.

The Arceus looked at the group before her, finding it lacking somewhat in terms of number.

 _Very well then. However, you'll need more than your current group to raid The Beacon._

 _... I didn't think of that._ Aurora said meekly with an embarrassed smile.

Jeanne nodded and thought to herself for a moment before opening a portal, one that gave off a mystical feeling.

 _Venture here and you'll find yourselves kind people who are in need of help. Aid them and I'm sure they'll return the favor._ she stated with confidence.

Aurora gave Jeanne a questioning look, cocking her head at an angle.

 _Are you sure? Why would they help us?_ Aurora asked.

Jeanne smiled and began to dissipate slowly, golden light emitted from her as she did so.

 _I am allied with their leader, they are in dire times right now so I'm sure they'll help if we help them._

And like that, Jeanne was gone leaving the group to themselves. Aurora gave her party a look and nodded with a smile.

 _Right. Anyways, you guys should stay here until I'm back with the allies Jeanne spoke of. Until then though, prepare yourselves._ she said with a serious tone.

Aniu looked at Demon who nodded and the she-wolf walked over to Aurora with a determined expression.

 _I'll come with you. Who knows? You may need my leadership or political skills._ Aniu said with a small chuckle.

Aurora smiled and turned to see Grey walk up to them, a serious look on his face.

 _I'll help too._ he stated with simplicity.

Aurora nodded and gave a farewell nod to the rest of them before walking into the portal, Aniu and Grey not far behind her. When they were gone, the portal shimmered and disappeared causing wonder and curiosity to run through the group.

Vulcan shook his head and gave the rest of them a smirk, rolling his shoulders and stretching his neck.

"While they're gone, you guys are going to go through my training. Now, everyone save for Rasha's kids and Aleu, ...FIVE LAPS AROUND THE DEN NOW!"

 **Mysterious planes...**

Aurora and the two looked around, finding the area they were in strangely...magical. Aurora spotted a large temple on the horizon and motioned for her two companions to follow her.

 _..-then we'll save Nyx along the way. After that, an all-out battle between us and Lygon._ Aurora thought to herself on the way to their destination.

As they walked, they noticed many strange things. They found several large floating chunks of land that levitate with stability from the ground. They also found strange plants that hopped around with their large tongues. Aurora nearly mistook a large spider for a plant and jumped back before the arachnid sprayed venom her way.

 _What are_ these _gems doing on the floor?_ Grey asked as he pointed to a small handful of green crystals that seemed to give off a amiable atmosphere.

 _They are probably dropped by some natives around here._ Aniu asked as she spotted some red crystals to the right.

Aurora inspected the gems, making sure not to touch them since she knew they were full of energy of some kind. She then snapped her head up as a half-dozen of large spiders surrounded them, some of the tongued plants hopped over as well.

 _Wow. Trouble not even an hour in._ Aurora remarked as she got into a defensive stance.

The other two laughed at her statement and prepared themselves, growling as the first of the spiders launched itself at them. Two of the spiders were headed at Aurora who froze the ground before her. The spiders shrieked in a high squealing tone as they slipped around and list their footing. At that moment, Aurora ran up to them and then past them, her ice blades extended on her elbows. The spiders she ran past suddenly crumpled to the ground, their torsos severed cleanly.

Aniu was dealing with the tongued plants, finding them intriguing and such. However, she threw that thought out the door as on of them headbutted her and struck her across a fore leg which she found disgusting. She growled and charged her claws with a bright golden energy before leaping at her enemies. She slashed left and right, leaving ribbons instead of what used to be full bodied plants in her wake. She did the same with some spiders as well when they got near her.

Grey calmly ducked as a spider jetted venom at him. The venom landed behind him and sizzled when it made contact with the ground. Grey then sidestepped as the spider ran past him, lashing out with his claws when the spider got near. The spider suddenly fell to the ground screeching, all of its legs on its left side now severed from its body. Grey then silenced the spider by sending a small blast of Light to its head which sent small bits of insect flesh and shell shards in different directions.

One spider sunk its fangs into Aurora's leg and she retaliated by batting it into a tree, sending it crashing through the large oak and most likely ending the spider's life. Aurora felt the heavy dose of poison run through her veins, knowing that it wouldn't kill her but at the most, maybe make her muscles sore...which it was. She then resorted to using ranged attacks to limit her movements which would also keep the poison from spreading quickly.

As the small fight went on, the spiders and strange plants began to retreat. At that point, Aurora was breathing heavily due to the poison though thankfully, it stopped spreading. Her body was sore and she felt like she could collapse due to the lack of energy.

 _Are you alright?_ Aniu asked as she supported Aurora as they rested.

Aurora nodded with lethargy and rested near a few red and green crystals. Unknown to the two of them, her paw made contact with the gems and they were suddenly absorbed into her. Grey saw this and noticed how her breathing steadied and her wounds as well as the bite mark on her leg. He looked down and noticed a green gem, he touched it and instantly, he absorbed it and he felt rejuvenated as if he had a long rest.

 _The gems. The red ones heal and the green ones give you energy._ he told them with surprise.

They gave equal looks of surprised and the two finally noticed Aurora's condition. Aniu experimentally absorbed a red gem that instantly healed the small cuts and scratches on her body.

 _We should find and stock up on these. I wouldn't rely on these all the time though._ Aniu remarked as they began to collect said gems.

About ten or so minutes later, they stored the gems into their dimensional storages and the three agreed not to use the gems unless it's for emergencies. The group then made continued their journey to the temple. Along the way, they encounter more of the spiders and plants but this time, the three were able to predict and counter the enemies and their movements. They managed to make it through unscathed and also found that very rarely, the enemies would drop a gem or two upon defeat.

 _This place we're in...it's strange yet interesting._ Grey remarked, the two females nodded to him in agreement.

When they finally reached their destination, they noticed that the temple was in the center of a very large city. To their surprise, dragons of varying sizes, color, and gender. They crowded the city and the group noticed that the dragons were actually talking with their mouths! They spoke with excitement, their teeth gleaming in the sunlight. There were also moles in the city as well, feline species spotted the city here and there as well as canine ones. However, they were all anthromorphic save for the dragons though Aurora noted to the others that some of the dragons stood on two legs and walked like they were bipedal. About half of the citizens wore armor of some kind and many dragons wore nothing, their draconic reproductive organs were hidden though female dragons had a curvy appearance in contrast to the muscular male ones. Other than armor, the miles wore overalls as well and the canine as well as the feline species wore leather clothing.

The city itself was stunning. There were many large buildings and homes that were peppered with gems and the like as well as many merchant stands along the streets. Bars and such drew in groups of dragons and the sound of hammers striking metal sounded as well, giving away the fact that there were smithing occupations and armories around the city.

 _I noticed that the canine and feline species are all anthromorphic. Let's transform into ours._ Aurora told Aniu and Grey, receiving nods from them.

They were a bit of a ways away from the city, atop a behind a hill to be exact, so they figured it was safe to transform. A small flash enveloped them and they were in their human forms.

Aniu stood at a height of an even six feet tall. Her silvery white hair hung down to the middle of her back, the result of her body slim and curvy. Her ears twitched at the city noises and her nose wrinkled as an updraft blew. Her golden runes that lined her body glowed through the cover of her fur and her tail was erect, a sign that represented her position as alpha of her pack. She wore a simple silver light-set chain mail underneath her leather clothing which included a thin jacket and shirt with jeans.

Grey stood almost as tall as Aurora, being only a couple of inches shorter. His bangs covered his left eye and his hair reached to the base of the back of his neck. Like Aniu, his glowing blue runes shone through his fur though most of it was covered by his clothing, a leather jacket atop a t-shirt complete with jeans that were slightly torn at the knees. His tail hung low, a couple inches off the ground.

Aurora wore similar clothing to Aniu though the only difference was that Aurora didn't have a jacket. Her neck extensions curled around her neck like a small scarf and her two tails, the ice ones, flowed with the wind. Her other two tails, the ones being of water, remained still though they still moved with movement. Her two larger wings were curled in behind her back, the same could be said for her two smaller ones.

The three then made their way to the city, stopping at the order of the two dragon guards at the gate.

"What is your business here, madam?" one of them asked, his red scales matched his eyes.

The other guard, yellow in color, nudged the other and they both noticed the wings that sprouted from Aurora's back. They looked at her with slight curiosity and confusion.

"We're here to find somewhere to stay for a while. We are travelers and this city caught our eyes, it's beautiful by the way." Aurora answered, a sincere smile at her last statement.

The guards blushed and looked at Grey and Aniu before nodding and allowing them entry.

"Just make sure you follow the laws of Warfang and don't cause trouble." the yellow dragon guard called out before they left earshot.

"Capturing hearts wherever you go, Aurora?" Aniu remarked with a laugh to which Aurora responded with a roll of the eyes.

They explored the city, Aurora attracting attention to her wings. To the citizens, a canine with wings is quite the sight. Aurora pointed out that there were many dragons, many young, enter the temple ahead of them.

"Hello there! New to the city?" a dragon called out to them.

This dragon orange-yellow spines resembling a mohawk that ran down from his crest to his tail which ended in a spear tip. His scales were a deep crimson color, his eyes much the same though his horns were a bright yellow like his wings. He had two large horns that curved out and then straight up like those of Saphira's and one smaller horn at the tip of his slightly round muzzle. The membranes of his wing were a paler yellow, his underbelly the same color. The group noticed he wore chain mail and figured he was a fighter. The dragon padded over to them, walking on four legs like most of the dragons in the area.

"I'm Flame, captain of the guards of Warfang." he said with a grin.

Aurora smiled and shook his offered paw with a nod.

"Pleasure to meet you, Flame. My name is Aurora and yes, we are new to Warfang." she replied.

"I am Aniu," Aniu told Flame with a polite tone, "and it's nice to meet you."

Flame looked at Grey who simply gestured to himself with a thumb.

"Grey. Nice to meet you." Grey stated as he too shook Flame's paw.

Flame gave them all a smile and nodded with small grunt.

"Would you like a tour of Warfang?" he asked with a raised eyeridge.

"We actually already explored everywhere except for that temple over there." Aniu responded, at the same time looking at the very large temple.

Flame gave a look of understanding and led them up a large set of stairs leading to the temple entrance. He pushed open the large set of double doors and cleared his throat.

"This is The Temple. It houses many student dragons as also doubles as an area of education for them. Not everyone, however, gets admitted into The Temple. You must pass a series of test first and get approved by the Guardians first." Flame began, leading them down a hallway.

They walked passed a large statue of a dragon that sat on its launches with a regal posture. It towered above them and was nearly as tall as The Temple itself.

"Here, they teach students about the Elements as well as history, all sciences, literature and language, mathematics, physical education, and finally, combat which has three levels: Beginners, Intermediates, and Advanced. Ahead, there's the library which has over a few thousand books and times about almost every subject you can find." he added as they passed the library, dozens and dozens of dragons walked about within.

 _I need to check this library out later._ Aurora noted to herself.

 _Amazing._ Aniu thought as she looked around at the many structures within The Temple.

 _Where's the combat class..._ Grey wondered.

Flame continued to lead them, walking passed a large room with hundreds of tables and seats.

"This, as you can see, is the mess hall and our cooks, one of whom is my wife, Ember, are excellent and provide the healthiest of food options to the students. The food, by the way, is free." Flame commented.

"Your wife works here?" Aurora asked.

"Yep. She cooks dozens meals a day for the upper-class students, another cooks for the staff, and the third cooks for the elementary students. If you ever see her, if she offers you MUST try her meatloaf. She's famous for it actually." Flame answered with a small chuckle.

He led them to two sets of stairs which was across a couple of hallways.

"The stairs and hallway lead to the dorms, the older students from middle school and higher have the choice to room here though they have to pay a small fee every month. The younger students live at their own homes though if they have older siblings, they can choose to room with them. The rooms are coed though you can request to room with someone of the same gender or by yourself if you like. Curfew for those rooming here at The Temple is an hour after the gong goes off." Flame explained.

He then showed them the combat rooms and the rest of the classrooms, the schooling system similar to that of a college. Flame also showed them the gardens and the large pond behind The Temple, then showing them the large arena next to The Temple which was meant for dragons that wanted to test their skills in the form of a challenge, or, as a form of a solution, a battle between two dragons that attempt to fight on campus which was against the rules.

"Any questions?" Flame asked as they stopped at The Temple entrance.

"When you say the Elements...?" Aurora asked.

"I mean the basic Elements that dragons can use. There's Fire, Water, Ice, Air, Shadow, Fear, Poison, Pain, Memory, Sound, Earth, Lightning, and Convexity though that last one can only be learned by purple dragons."

"Purple dragons?" Aniu asked.

Flame gave them an amused smile.

"You three really must be foreign to The Realms then. Let's see. There are many Realms, each having their own species of dragons or canines or felines as well as moles. There's Realms with ogres and such too but I'm only going to focus on the one we are in. This Realm is home to all species and Warfang is it's capital city. Here, we have The Temple, as you can see, and we are also in charge of the Realm though that does not mean we are in complete control of it. Now, Warfang, over the many centuries, is home to all types of dragons. For example, I am a Fire dragon and you can tell by my scales. There are, however, a few instances where the scales do not necessarily represent the Element. I know someone who is a Fire dragon but he has silver scales instead of the normal orange range to red."

Flame cleared his throat, as if preparing to give a long explanation.

"Purple dragons though, are special. Though they are rare, they possess wonderful and powerful abilities. They can wield all Elements, Convexity being a combination of all of them, and exhibit tremendous power. Long ago, there used to be only around one or two purple dragon every several years. Lord Spyro, now a teacher in elemental and physical combat, is a purple dragon born about twenty five years ago. He now has a son by the name of Savron, also a purple dragon. Other than purple dragons, there are also white-scaled dragons, Albinos, which are even rarer than purples. We have two here in Warfang and both recently been labeled "heroes" among us for saving the city. Anyways, back to Albinos, they strangely do not have any elemental abilities nor could they ever learn. We don't know why but there has never been an Albino that used an element ever since they first appeared except for Hope, the other Albino I was talking about. "

"It feels like to me that there are some discrimination against them." Grey commented.

Flame nodded, his smile waned a little though his demeanor remained unaffected.

"They used to be widely hated by any dragons who believed that Albinos were just "breathless lizards." After Lyrith, the Albino I was talking about, saved the city, people treat them with more respect though there are some select dragons who still refuse to acknowledge their existence." Flame added.

He sat on his haunches, stretching his wings before refocusing on their conversation.

"So, there are two more Elements though they are nearly extinct due to a war some decades ago. There are the pure Dark and pure Light Elements. Pure Dark Elemental dragons have black, dark gray, or dark-silver scales while Pure Light Elemental dragons have white, tan, or golden scales. The non-pure Elemental dragons of the two have either darker shades of a color for Dark or lighter shades of a color for Light. The war between the two nearly wiped them out though I don't believe they are still at it. We have a family of Dark dragons here as well and they are actually loved by everyone here. Anyways, if you combine the Dark Elements, you'd get Concurrence. Shadow, Fear, Poison, Pain, Memory, and Sound are the Dark Elements that'd get you Concurrence. The rest are Light Elements that'd get you Convergence. Put those two together and you'd get Convexity."

"Geez, Flame, are you going to recount the whole history of Warfang now? You were never that big on history back when we were just little drakes." a new voice sounded, it's tone warming and had a hint of amusement.

They turned to see a purple-scaled dragon enter the room. He had a golden-yellow underbelly which matched his five horns, two which were curved upwards on the top of his head, one at the tip of his snout, and one sprouting from each side of his cheeks that curved towards the end of his muzzle. He had friendly amethyst eyes that reminded Aurora of Draken's and like Flame, had mohawk-like golden-yellow spines that trailed from the back of his head to the end of his spike-tipped tail. The newcomer walked on all fours like Flame did and when he neared, flashed a smile at them.

"Spyro, buddy, aren't you supposed to be with Cynder talking to Savron about how he's not supposed to engage in suggestive acts with Miranda during class?" Flame replied with a smirk.

"Come on, Flame, not in front of our friends here." Spyro replied with a chuckle.

Spyro then arched an eyeridge and gave Flame a smirk.

"Isn't it time to gather the troups for training? If not then I'll tell Ember that you're spending a day off here, HERE not with HER." Spyro smugly replied.

Flame blushed though they couldn't see it due to his scales and flew off in a panic, seeking to find his mate at their house. Spyro chuckled once more before turning to the three before him.

"Sorry if he was boring you all. He used to be an annoying flirtatious one but now he's more laid back and "evened out" I guess you can say. So, welcome, all of you, to Warfang. I'm Spyro, the leader of the Guardians and well, King of this Realm." Spyro announced, shaking each of their hands.

He then gestured for them to follow him, leading them down another hallway.

"I suppose you are the ones sent by Lady Arceus?" he asked, surprising them for a moment.

"Yes, we were sent here to help you." Aniu responed.

"Ah, well thank you for going out of your way to help us here. We really appreciate it." he replied back as he led them inside a large chamber with a pool of green water in the center.

Sitting around it were four large dragons, three of which were males. The males were of Earth, Lightning, and Ice while the female was of Fire.

The Earth dragon towered over the rest of them, having large muscles and earthen-armored scales on his body. His scales were green and he had forest green eyes to match. He had six marble horns, two on each side of his face and two on the top of his head. He had an orange beard that was well kept and orange spines on his forehead. His underbelly and wing membranes were a lighter orange though the latter was somewhat tattered, evidence of the Earth dragon's experiences in battle. He also had a club with rock spikes at the end of his tail.

The Ice dragon had light blue scales which shined with brilliance. He had darker though somehow colder blue eyes and several spikes of ice crowning his head and the sides of his face. His shoulders and the back of his legs had purple-blue ice fringe and had spikes of ice leading from the back of his head to the end of his spiked tail. His underbelly and the membrane of his wings were purple though this was the there's first encounter with him, they knew he was overly confident and was radiating pride and arrogance.

The Lightning dragon seemed to beam with excitement. He had bright yellow scales with lightning patterns and golden yellow eyes. He had four purple horns at the tip of his head which curved back then pointed upwards and a scraggly purple beard and goatee. His wings and underbelly were purple though the membranes of the former were yellow and slightly tattered with age. The Lightning dragon had purple spikes leading from his head to the end of his tail which had branched off purple spikes. The Lightning dragon's thin body jumped at the three's appearance, obviously trailing to contain himself from blurting out his thoughts which were no doubt laced with curiosity.

The Fire dragoness was striking and seemed to be the youngest of the four Guardians. She was slender and had plenty of curves and her smile beamed friendliness. She had red-orange scales with flame patterns and her eyes were a maroon color. She had two black horns at the top of her head which were pointed back and orange fringe on the back of her legs. She had an amber-colored underbelly and membranes of her wings matched. Her tail ended in a blade-like tip which shined with a deadly glint.

Aurora noticed that they were all wearing a necklace, one with an emerald, another with a sapphire, the third with a yellow topaz, and the last with a bright red ruby. All of which were large in size.

"Let's get introductions out of the way. These four are the Guardians of The Temple, teachers of different subjects as well." Spyro announced.

"I am Terrador, I teach how to wield the Earth Element and all-around combat with normal physical education." the Earth dragon boomed in a deep voice.

"I'm Cyril and I teach the Ice Element as well as anatomy and other sciences here. I am one of a honorable lineage, one of-" the Ice dragon said with a prideful tone though was cut off by the Lightning dragon.

"YesCyrilweallknowofyourfamilylinethoughthat'snotimportant. HelloyouthreemynameisVolteerandIteachhistoryasweelastheLightningElement. Pleasuretomeetyouall." Volteer stated though they could barely understand him.

"Pardon him, he talks with a speed that rivals light. Oh, my name is Inferna and I teach the Fire Element as well as mathematics and literature including language." Inferna announced.

Spyro smiled and nodded.

"You already know me. I teach Air, Water, Sound, and Memory as well as combat." he stated right as a dark purple-scaled dragoness walked in.

She was slender and had toned muscles on her body. She had a magenta underbelly though the membranes of her wings were crimson red. Her eyes were emerald green and she had eight silver horns, four on each side of her face and two large ones that pointed up on the top of her head. She had a bladed tail and blade claws on her wing thumbs. Around her ankles were golden bracelets and around her neck was a golden choker collar that had an engraved heart in the center with a green gem within.

"Spyro, WHERE WERE YOU?" Cynder asked as she angrily walked up to him.

Spyro became nervous and tried to find a way out of the situation.

"C-C-Cyn! Don't be mad at m-m-me. I sensed those three and left to fill them in on our situation." Spyro explained as he took a step back.

Cynder turned to see the newcomers and immediately softened, her smile erasing all evidence of her previous anger.

"Pleased to meet you all. I am Cynder, I teach Shadow, Poison, and Fear as well as combat. Sorry for just now though sorry again for what you're about to see."

She then turned around and smacked Spyro his snout, earning a pained help from him and a small chuckle from the other Guardians though Cynder silenced them with a glare.

"Well next time, warn me before you suddenly run off right before I was going to ask you to support me in a point." she added with a sweet smile, earning a frantic nod from Spyro.

 **Later...**

Aurora, Gray, and Aniu learned that when Spyro and Cynder were just eggs, there was another purple dragon, the first, by the name of Malefor. He quickly became corrupted and terrorized the Realms though was sealed away by a group of dragons. However, his influence still remained as well as his army led by an ape, Gaul. Gaul was sent by Malefor to a hatchery and stole many eggs, including Cynder. Spyro, luckily, was spared and hatched sometime later to be raised by fireflies. After growing up with a firefly, Sparx was his name, he and Sparx left the swamps and eventually ran into Ignitus, a Fire dragon who was the only free Guardian at the time. Ignitus explained to them that Spyro was a special dragon and took Spyro under his wing to teach him the Fire Element. After mastery of Fire, Ignitus sent Spyro to save the other three captured Guardians, Cyril, Terrador, and Volteer, though Spyro ran into Cynder who was corrupted by dark magic from Gaul as well as Malefor's influence. The two forces transformed her young body into a ferocious adult one with enormous power. She captured Ignitus and absorbed his energy into a ball, the same as she did with the other three. Fortunately, Spyro reached her in time before she could free Malefor from the seal with the orb and fought her. The battle ended with Spyro winning and also Cynder turning back to normal, free form the dark forces.

Later on, Cynder felt guilty about what happened and ran away shortly after the two returned to The Temple. Spyro, against the Guardians' wishes, tracks her down and argued with her, he told her that she was not at fault and was important to him. Unfortunately, Cynder was captured by Gaul's men and was thrown into an arena to fight. Spyro found her again though this time, Gaul ordered her to attack Spyro. Cynder, however, attacked Gaul who easily knocked her out. This enraged Spyro and he released a Fury, an Elemental attack that requires tremendous energy, that turned Gaul into stone which was them shattered by Spyro. When Cynder regained consciousness, she saw that the arena was caving in and the ground was rupturing. Spyro though protected them by freezing them in a crystal of Time, an ancient Element only Spyro can perform.

Three years later, they were freed from the crystal and found that they were in some kind of temple which was actually home to the Destroyer, a gigantic golem created by Malefor to cause destruction which would lead to the world's "rebirth". Spyro and Cynder were binded together by a green snake necklace created by Malefor at the time and the two fought with each other in terms of who led and who followed. The two escaped the Temple with the help of Hunter, a cheetah, and regrouped at Warfang where already, the Destroyer was rampaging. Spyro, Cynder, and the four Guardians defeated the Destroyer and against the Guardians' wishes, once more, the two teenage dragons sought out Malefor at the Well of Souls where he was sealed by The Elders, the dragons who taught him the Elements.

Spyro and Cynder reached the Well though Ignitus followed them in stealth but he was far behind. The two found Malefor who was revived by then and the three fought. Malefor used Convexity in his attacks and eventually, used Fear to unnerve Spyro. Through verbal abuse, Malefor told Spyro that he orchestrated the situation and that Cynder tricked him into leading the purple dragon there. Spyro denies it and Cynder as well though she succumbed to Malefor's influence and attacked Spyro. She then became frustrated since Spyro didn't bother defending himself. Finally, when she demanded why, Spyro told her that she had left him with nothing to fight for, revealing some of his feelings for her. That broke her out of Malefor's influences and together, they defeated Malefor which caused the Well of Souls to crumble. The two flew out of the chamber, seeking the exit but found that they were too slow. All of a sudden, Ignitus appeared as a ring of fire surrounded them from Malefor's remaining will. Ignitus saved the two but sacrificed himself in the end throwing the two into tears.

When they left the Well of Souls, they found that the world around them was breaking. Malefor wanted this and the two thought that it was all for naught. Spyro, not willing to give up, suddenly came up with an idea and advised Cynder to leave before he performed his Time Fury. She, however, refused and stuck by his side.

"At the last moment, I remember hearing her tell me "I love you." before I unleashed the Time Fury which put the world back together and saved everyone else." Spyro told them as the three watched Cynder with amusement as she blushed.

"When we came to, we found that he succeeded and we flew, lazily I might add since we discovered our feelings, back to Warfang. There were celebrations and such and days turned into years then months then years and finally, we had Savron, our first child." Cynder finished as she nuzzled Spyro who tried to hide his blush as well, earning small laughter from the three and the Guardians.

"That must have been a long and tiring ordeal for you all." Aurora remarked as they nodded in agreement.

"I filled in the vacant position as Fire Guardian shortly afterwards. Ignitus was a great dragon though, I don't think I'll ever be able to meet his place." Inferna added.

"Nonsense, Inferna. Yes, you can't replace Ignitus but that doesn't mean you are mediocre in any way. You are an outstanding Guardian and Ignitus would've thought and said the same thing." Spyro retorted.

Inferna beamed with tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"Thank you, Spyro. It means a great deal to me coming from you, Ignitus being somewhat like a father-figure to you." she replied earning a nod from the dragons.

"So, now everything has returned back to normal since then. But unfortunately, we seem to have what may turn out to be a war in our hands." Cynder announced.

Spyro turned to Aurora and gave the other two a serious look.

"Yes, we have a great problem on our talons. As you know, Malefor is gone and his army with him. What we DIDN'T know was that he had MULTIPLE Destroyers." he said in a grave tone.

"How many?" Grey asked immediately.

"There are nine of them, all asleep in the other Realms."

"NINE?!" Aniu exclaimed, shocked beyond belief.

Spyro nodded and led them over to the pool of green water where it shimmered for a moment before showing some scenery of places elsewhere.

"One in each Realm. With just us, we won't be able to reach them all in time before they awaken. We are wondering if you three still want to help." he stated.

"Of course we would, we can't just leave this alone." Aurora replied with a determined nod of the head with the other two agreeing.

Spyro and the other dragons smiled and he nodded with gratitude.

"Thank you. You have no idea how much that would help us."

"How much time before they awaken?" Aurora asked.

"Four months, when the moons turn purple according to this vision." Terrador told them.

"By then, we need you to lead different groups of dragons who are willing to fight to different Destroyers. I already have a plan formulated." Cyril added.

"Yesyesindeed. Cyrilherethoughtofsome-" Volteer began.

"Volteer, please slow down." Inferna interrupted with a roll of the eyes.

Volteer cleared his throat and took a deep breath.

"Cyril planned that we each, like he mentioned, take a group of dragons to an assigned Realm. With you three included, we'll be able to reach all of them without having a group or two going after multiple Destroyers. Each of us will have a City Defender to go with along with the other dragons. Spyro, Flame will accompany you. Cynder, Ember will go with you. Terrador, my good fellow, you are going with Hope. Cyril, you are taking Elenar with you. I will go with Bane. Inferna, you are going with Lyrith. Now, that leaves Rune, Cyrus, and Savron." Volteer explained.

At that moment, a purple dragon walked in. He shared similar features with Spyro though the only difference was that the newcomer had green eyes and two silver horns that curled forwards. He was muscular and had a goofy grin formed on his muzzle.

"Ah, Savron, you will go with Grey to defeat the Destroyer." Volteer announced.

Savron stopped and shrugged, already knowing the situation, and looked at the three newcomers. His eyes rested on Grey who stared back at the purple dragon. Savron then smiled.

"Alright then. Me and that tough guy over there will take it out with no problems." Savron stated genuinely.

 _I like him. We'll get along just fine._ Grey said mentally with mild surprise to Aurora and Aniu, both rolling their eyes.

"Aniu, am I correct? Ahem, you will go with Cyrus and don't worry, ill introduce you to him after this meeting. Finally, Aurora, you will take Rune with you and the same thing goes for you as I told Aniu. Any questions?" Volteer finished.

 **Night...**

"So you defeated the whole horde? Pretty amazing if you ask me." a black dragon remarked to Aurora.

The dragon, as mentioned, had black scales and strangely, glowing blue glyphs on his sides. They were hourglass shaped and according to him, they were his birthmarks. They reminded Aurora of Ryker's and Vulcan's family brands. The dragon also had obsidian colored horns, two on the top of his head which curled back. His eyes were a brilliant gold color and he had a silver mane that covered the entire back of his neck and back. His wing membranes were silver as well as the spike at the tip of his tail. Around his neck, a golden necklace with a diamond embedded in the center rested as it shined in the light of the moon.

The two were walking down on of the hallways of The Temple heading for their rooms. Aniu and Gray had already retreated to their quarters and Aurora found it surprising that there were no students around. However, light was given to the situation when Volteer explained that it was the students' day off. The older students were already resting or hanging out in their dorms.

"It was only because I got so angry that it happened. I nearly lost control of myself." Aurora replied, recalling the day she took out the large horde of Heartless in her **Battle Form.**

"Rune! Where the hell are you?!" another voice sounded.

They turned around to see another black dragon. The resemblance between him and Rune was uncanny though the only differences were their birthmarks and their eye and horn colors. Unlike Rune, the newcomer's birthmarks were red instead of blue and his eyes were a nice blue-green color. His horns were silver and he also had a silver mane. His tail ended in a normal triangle tip like most dragons.

"Quiet down, Cyrus. There's sleeping dragons here, you know." Rune whispered with a scolding tone.

Cyrus lightly chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry bro, I forgot. I guess I'm to used to being at home where there's always something happening." Cyrus replied.

"What do you need Cyrus?" Aurora asked with a smile, having already met the dragon along with the other mentioned dragons of the plan a few hours before.

"Mom needs to talk to Rune about something, that's it I think." Cyrus replied with a furrowed brow.

"You didn't bother remembering why exactly she wants to see me?" Rune inquired with a chuckle as he began walk towards his younger brother.

"Nah, I figured she'll just tell you herself." Cyrus replied with a laugh as his brother batted him lightly on the head.

Rune turned back to Aurora with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, I have to go. Maybe we'll share more stories next time?" he asked, Aurora replying with a happy nod.

The two pure Dark dragons, Princes of Dark dragons to be exact, left the area as Aurora turned and found her temporary room for the remainder of the quest. She went inside and found that there was a large bed with many cushions upon it. There was a balcony with a great view of some hills outside and within the room, there were a desk as well as a stand complete with books and tomes. In the center or the room was a semi-large table with four seats, fit for having a small dinner.

Aurora sighed wearily and immediately took to the bed. She found it comfortable but there was something missing. This "something" was missing for two years.

She really missed being near Ryker.

Aurora looked out of the balcony window, seeing the moon rise lazily into the night sky. Ryker...He was the bulk of her thoughts. She thought about how safe she would always feel around him. She remembered the determined look he would give when it came to protecting her or anyone else. She then remembered his smiles, his ultra-rare smiles. Those moments would always make her days and the happiness in his eyes would fill her to the brim with a warm, loving feeling.

 _ **"You are the Light in my Darkness."**_

Aurora allowed a tear to escape one of her eyes and gave a minuscule smile at the memory. Whenever she felt down, she would remember those words, the words that gave her the reason to hold on and to keep fighting. Aurora looked at the moon once more, finding that it alluring and comforting. She wondered what were Ryker's reasons for looking at the moon, wondering if his reasons matched her own.

"Good night, Ryker, and know that we are coming for you." Aurora managed to say aloud to herself before falling asleep.

 **The Beacon...**

One would see a heavily maimed man covered with dry blood in the cell. Around him, pieces and strands of flesh lay scattered in small amounts. More chains were bounded to him and two large chains in particular, both of which glowed with a golden light, were wrapped around his torso. The two chains were charged with Light and with each passing second, drained him little by little of his life.

Ryker, however, wasn't unnerved by these new binds. Instead, he was calm about the ordeal, patience being one of his greatest qualities. He wasn't worried at all, figuring that everyone will have to die someday. Then, there's the afterlife but he didn't intend to go there anytime soon.

Ryker's ears suddenly twitched, his senses going overdrive. He blindly looked around, trying to figure out what caused the strange feeling he was receiving. He then found that the feeling wasn't strange at all, but instead, comforting. Ryker relaxed then smiled, his teeth amazingly intact and flawless and his fangs dripping blood that accumulated in his mouth.

"I...love..you too...Aurora.." Ryker whispered before falling unconscious once more though this time, with a small ghost of a smile.

Outside the cell, Lygon was examining the piece of flesh he had gotten from Ryker. He must've done this at least several dozen times already, each time giving up in frustration.

"Just what is he? He can't be a normal human...No, he isn't a human at all." Lygon stated to himself as he inspected part of Ryker's family brand on the clump of flesh.

He sniffed it, felt its texture, even tasted it, but he still couldn't figure it out.

"This one...It's obvious that he is unlike anyone or _anything_ I ever encountered before...I'll try again tomorrow." Lygon added before burning the strip of flesh with Light.

He then sneered at Ryker before walking down a flight of stairs. On the way, he decided to check up on another prisoner, Nyx. He went inside the cell and found Nyx awake, lazily tracing imaginary images onto the ground below him. Nyx looked up at Lygon and gave a crooked smile, his stripes glowing faintly and his teeth caked with dry blood.

"Ah, Lygon, always a pleasure to see you, mate." Nyx announced with a British accent.

Being a special shiny Umbreon, one that could talk to boot, he was born and raised outside the usual regions. He was then brought back to Kanto by his father, the Crimson Night, and his mother, the Amethyst Mind. His parents were also abnormally colored Umbreon and they served as Knights of Arceus. Nyx himself, was The Knight of Sapphire Justice. There was The Knight of Fate, Love, Peace, Soul, Heart, War, and Time, all of which serve under the two Arceus. His mother used to be the Knight of Mind while his father used to be the Knight of Soul but after some time, the two retired and lived on in the afterlife.

Nyx was an ally for several years, he went on many missions to recover lost artifacts as well as help out many famous figures such as Ashura Ketchum. He had a special power, one that allowed him to focus his aura and use it as a weapon, a way of defense, and to fly. When he used to be free, he'd grow his wings of aura and fly from region to region as a hobby. There was one point where he had to fight off a rampaging Groudon and his power reached the attention of Lygon who found and imprisoned the Umbreon. Nyx recently turned 28 years old, six of his years were spent in imprisonment.

"Can you be a good man and fill me a glass of water or two? That would me much appreciated." Nyx added sarcastically.

Lygon chuckled at the Umbreon's words, finding him amusing regarding the position he was in.

"Nyx, how are you holding up here? Doing well?" Lygon asked with a smirk.

"I've been better, I still think your claim of me being evil is a load of rubbish though." Nyx replied as he stretched, his bonds clanking with each movement.

"Rubbish? Oh no, it is clear you are a threat to society. It's only right that you're here at The Beacon."

Nyx laughed, the Manticore's stubbornness tickled a funny bone within him. Lygon frowned at Nyx, wondering what he had said was funny.

"A threat? HAHA, a threat to society, you say? HAHAHAHA...*sigh* Whew! You are a funny one, Manticore. A really funny one."

"How so?" Lygon challenged with a growl.

Nyx chuckled and shook his head.

"I have tremendous power at my disposal. Yet, I never used it to escape here, have I? I never used it against an innocent being, and I say that with Lord and Lady Arceus easy witnesses. I swore an oath to them, as Knight of Sapphire Justice, that I wouldn't betray them in any form or way as well as never lay a harming finger on innocents."

Lygon said nothing and Nyx laughed once more at the silent Manticore, this time, out of mockery and triumph. This lasted for a while more until Lygon finally growled in anger.

"See to it that you will never leave this place." Lygon snarled before turning around.

Nyx gradually stopped laughing and when Lygon turned to face him to close the door, Nyx suddenly became serious, his face stern and eyes filled with fury.

"You believe that you are holy, Manticore. Yet, you constantly capture many beings you deem "unholy", a word that seems to be warped by your definition. I am willing to bet everything that more than let's say, ninety percent of the prisoners here are innocent and trust me, with my abilities, I can tell hence my title as Knight of Sapphire Justice...If and when I get out of here, Feran, you can look forward to me beating your bloody arse, you damned wanker." he spat though strangely in a respectful tone.

Feran scoffed it off closed the cell doors, then grimly thought to himself as he walked down another set of stairs.

 _Nyx, though I admire your spunk, I'm afraid NO ONE is leaving this tower._

Feran walked down to the first floor of The Beacon and looked around, many of his subordinates and soldiers were running amok, either patrolling, mingling, or meditating to sense for Dark threats. He smiled, confident that The Beacon was by far the most fortified structure in history. There were around several thousand soldiers, dozens and dozens of traps and defenses, and for beings of darkness, a large crystal at the top of the tower that would emit a grand light which would weaken and maybe even kill those of darkness.

It was called The Eye of Osiris, a large diamond crystal ball that was specifically designed to absorb the sun's light then amplify the collected light with the many refractions. If used as a laser, the refracted light would then be refracted over and over again, amplifying its intensity. At the apex of, the refracted light would condense into a beam and fire at any area guided by Lygon's will. The result would be nothing but a pile of ash.

Atop The Beacon, The Eye was rotating in a slow circle. At random points, it would rotate diagonally, then horizontally, and so on. In the center, a bright ball of light lazily floated around. Only when The Eye rotates at a fast speed would the ball of light refract and become a dangerous weapon. However, even now in its non-lethal state, The Eye still emitted small waves of light, ensuring their safety though not bright enough that it would bother anyone in their sleep.

 **At the Pack Den...**

"Come on everyone, we can do this!" Vulcan shouted as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

Behind him, Demon, Rasha, Balto, Jenna, and Ally were panting as they tried to keep up with him. In the center of the field, the four young were dozing off as the group ran in large circles around them. The running group ran a distance equivalent to running a half dozen laps around ALL regions. They were at it the whole day and everyone, including Vulcan who was stuck in his human form, was about ready to collapse. Anyone with asthma, with any, had killed it already due to the rigorous exercise.

About a minute later, Vulcan slowed to a stop and everyone else collapsed, thankful that the run was over.

"I think *pant* we covered cardiovascular endurance." Vulcan wheezed, earning glares from the rest of them.

After drinking large amounts of water and going back to the cave, everyone laid down and began planning for the next day's events.

"Lets see, we'll go over some combat training tomorrow and those who want to stick to a specific form, like myself though I can't change that for now, will train under Demon for quadrapedal combat and under me for bipedal combat. We'll train for about a few hours with breaks in between then when we are done with that, we'll move on to magical or ranged combat. Any questions?" Vulcan announced.

Everyone shook their heads including the children. Though Scarlet, Aero, and Violet were already near full maturity, Aleu still had some way to go but they could still all participate in the training even though they won't participate in the operation to rescue Ryker.

Vulcan leaned back against the cave wall, Ally was resting her head on his lap in her dragon form.

"Well I guess that's our plan for tomorrow. Anyways, *yawn* I'm heading off to sleep. 'Night guys." Vulcan stated as he closed his others, the others bidding each other good night before going to sleep as well.

As they slept, the shadows around them warped and contorted, all the while leaving the group alone in their sleep. The shadows then calmed a little though their movements still occurred. Some shadows rested outside the cave while the others moved into the cave but around the sleeping bodies. A few shadows bordered the cave with multiple layers. The rest of the shadows circled the entire den, almost covering several miles in radius. If one were to look, it almost looks like the shadows had formed a protective barrier.

If one were to ask, they would be correct.

 _ **"The stillness of the night air**_

 _ **The pack unsettled**_

 _ **They are all red alert**_

 _ **Noses to the air**_

 _ **Noses to ground**_

 _ **Ears pricked**_

 _ **Then with no warning**_

 _ **The howls begin**_

 _ **The echoes roll through the valley**_

 _ **The pain in the hearts**_

 _ **Felt for miles**_

 _ **The cries for a love once felt**_

 _ **They have searched for days**_

 _ **But the Alpha is no where to be smelt, heard or seen**_

 _ **The pack is lost**_

 _ **Unsure where to turn. "**_


	22. Chapter 6 (DR)

**Here's another chapter guys. It's slightly shorter than normal but...oh well. How did you like the last few chapters though? Exciting? Yes? No? Maybe? REVIEW. Shout outs to Hello50 and Angerunleashed4doomsday!**

 _ **"The darkest shadows swallow light**_

 _ **With icy talons gripping tight**_

 _ **Nothing stirs upon the floor**_

 _ **As if, the forest lives no more**_

 _ **Amid the sky the faintest breeze**_

 _ **Kicks up movement from the trees**_

 _ **Higher yet the clouds give way**_

 _ **And moonlight turns the woods to day**_

 _ **Beneath a growing groaning dance**_

 _ **Of oak and pine in a wind romance**_

 _ **A beast steps forth with haunting grace**_

 _ **With steps so light, it leaves no trace**_

 _ **He swiftly runs the woodland ground**_

 _ **Then bounds up top a stony mound**_

 _ **Now bathed in hues of silver light**_

 _ **The wolf stands tall to greet the night**_

 _ **With mirrored eyes, he scans the deep**_

 _ **Takes in his world in one fell sweep**_

 _ **His gaze soon turns up to the moon**_

 _ **As he conjures up his ancestral tune**_

 _ **The cry is echoed throughout the trees**_

 _ **And carried far upon the breeze**_

 _ **He sings his song atop the stone**_

 _ **In hopes he's truly not alone**_

 _ **Soon enough he hears them all**_

 _ **As the pack return the call**_

 _ **One last howl soars through the air**_

 _ **As he tells them all he will soon be there**_

 _ **The wind picks up and the trees groan more**_

 _ **As the wolf bounds back to the forest floor**_

 _ **The clouds now gather and mute the light**_

 _ **As he slips back off into the night."**_

 **Chapter 6: The Darkness Stirs...**

"Come on, Rune! I know you can do better than that!" Aurora teased as she ducked an incoming blast of fire from Rune.

Rune smirked at her antics, he suddenly summoned small gales of wind and launched them both at her. Aurora smiled and gracefully generated her own gales of wind, throwing them to counter Rune's. As the forces collided, the air around them shifted and one could feel the current travel towards their attacks. At that moment, Rune charged at Aurora who suddenly froze the path before him. Rune gasped as he began to lose his footing, slipping all about and making scratches on the path. Aurora took this chance and flapped her wings, the force of her winds caused Rune to finally fall and somewhat slide across the ice path.

Rune got up in a disoriented manner. A small circle of cracks had formed where he fell and Aurora chuckled as she could almost see the chirping birds that were flying about in Rune's vision. Rune then shook his head and snapped out of it, grinning at Aurora with a toothy smile.

"I'll get you back for that." Rune warned as he crouched, ready to pounce with heavy force.

As he began to spring, a Water dragoness walked in whilst humming. She had light blue scales and a purple underbelly that also matched her mane. Her eyes were a purple color as well though her two horns were a cream color. Her tail ended in a normal tip though there was a small tear in the purple membrane in one of her wings. Just slightly beneath her right horn, a teardrop-shaped birthmark was present.

"Rune! Your mom is here! Hi Aurora!" the Water dragoness announced.

At that moment, Rune was caught off guard and slipped once more on the ice path, landing on his muzzle. Several more cracks were made and chunks of ice ejected free as he muzzle dug deeper into the ice. Another dragoness walked in though she was older than the one of Water. The dragoness had purple-black scales and dark green eyes. She had only two horns at the top of her head and her underbelly was a brilliant red as we're the membranes of her wings. Her muzzle ended in somewhat like a beak like that of Cynder's though her own was rounder. There was a blade-like extension on her tail that shined in the light. Around her neck was a pendant with a purple gem in the center. The gem glowed every so often and one could see swirling lights within.

Rune got up from his fall and looked at the two females, one was giggling while the other simply shook her head with a smile.

"How are you Nellie? Elenar?" Aurora asked as she melted the ice path with a smile.

"Just fine, Aurora! Thanks again for training with Rune." Nellie replied as she trotted over to Rune and nudged him, making him blush as they nuzzled each other.

"I am doing fine as well, Aurora, thank you." Elenar replied with a warm tone.

"Hi Mom, how's Dad?" Rune asked as he hugged his mother, Elenar hugged him back and gave him a warm smile in response.

"He's doing just find back at the Nexus. Oh, which reminds me.." Elenar replied.

Elenar reached behind her neck where a satchel hung and pulled out a crystal that shone with a purple brilliance.

"He left a message for you." she added.

Rune looked at the crystal as it flashed, revealing another black-scaled dragon with blood red eyes. He had a golden mane that flowed down his neck and four large horns that pointed upwards at the top of his head. The dragon smiled and flashed his teeth.

"I'm sorry I couldn't go with your mother to visit, I have some things to take care of. I just want to tell you that your grandfather and I miss the both of you. Anyways, I heard of your recent achievements and I want to say that I'm proud of both of you." Bane, the King of Dark dragons announced from the recording in the crystal.

"Sire! We need your assistance with the balloons for the pa-!" a dragon called out from the background.

"ANYWAYS," Bane continued as he cleared his throat, "I have to go now as I don't have that much time right now. Farewell and have a great day!"

The crystal flashed and the image was gone, Rune smiling all the while.

"Did Cyrus see this yet?" Rune asked as he gave back the crystal to his mother.

"Uhm. I showed it to him earlier when I got here. Oh, Aurora?" Elenar responded.

Aurora perked up at the sound of her name. She looked at Elenar who looked slightly amused.

"Sorry, Elenar, what do you need?" Aurora asked as she shook her head to rid some impeding thoughts.

"It's all right. Um..can we talk in private?"

Aurora nodded and followed Elenar out of the training room, they ended up outside the room and Elenar shut the doors and looked around before finally relaxing.

"Sorry for this but I actually need an adult female's opinion." Elenar explained apologetically.

This surprised Aurora and she shook her head with a smile as she responded.

"No, it's fine. I'll be glad to help. What is the problem?"

Elenar blushed and pulled another item out of her satchel, however, this item wouldn't be appropriate to have around younglings. It was a pink lingerie outfit for female dragons. Aurora looked at it for a moment before slightly blushing as well, her expression caused Elenar to turn redder and redder.

"Um...Do you think Bane will like this? It's going to be our anniversary tomorrow and, well, you get the idea..." Elenar questioned, her tone one of embarrassment though slightly pleading.

Aurora took a while before shaking her head and breaking eye contact with the revealing outfit.

"I'm sure he will! Uh, guys love that, right? I'm sure Bane would definitely trip over you wearing that!" Aurora replied with a flustered look.

Elenar smiled and put the outfit back into her satchel before exhaling deeply with relief.

"Thank you for you opinion, Aurora. I just wanted to make sure." Elenar replied with a smile, her blush still apparent though not as bright as before.

Aurora nodded and gave a small giggle, her blush lessening as well.

"No problem Elenar, we got to keep our guys on the harness, right?"

Elenar giggled as well before Rune and Nellie walked out with confused looks.

"Is there something wrong?" Nellie asked as she spotted a pink item in Elenar's satchel.

Rune saw it too and walked closer to take a better look at it.

"Yeah, is something wrong?...What is that?" he asked as he cocked his head at an angle.

Elenar paled though they couldn't see it below the cover of her scales. She then suddenly took off at a quick speed, flying out of sight leaving Rune and Nellie worried and Aurora with a laughing fit.

"Dont worry you two, everything is just fine." Aurora told them before walking away.

Rune and Nellie looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. Nellie then spotted something in a bush and walked up to it, finding it to be a literally harness mouthpiece.

"Do you see this, Rune?" Nellie asked, giving it a closer look.

Rune walked up to it and gave it a sniff, recognizing his mother's scent on it.

"Mom dropped this when she flew away, I'll give it back to her later. It's probably for...actually, I don't have an idea for what it's for. Meh." Rune replied before placing the harness and mouthpiece, which strangely looked like a gag though they didn't think anything of it, into his own satchel.

Rune then Nellie walked down the corridor, heading for the dorm rooms.

"Hey Nellie, want to see the new tomes I got? They're really rare and I bet we can learn something useful from them." he asked her, receiving an interested nod in response.

He led her to his room and they both went inside, Nellie immediately finding the tomes Rune had spoken off on a shelf against a wall. She flipped through the pages of the first one, her eyes widening at some parts and contemplative at other parts. She did this with four other tomes before sitting down next to Rune on his mattress with cushions.

"Read them yet?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, definitely did." he replied with a smile.

Nellie was entranced, staring at Rune's handsome face and bright smile. She looked into his eyes and found what she always found, a loving warmth and caring with a wild spark of protective intent. Rune looked into her eyes as well, her beautiful eyes...They both realized what they were doing and both blushed, Rune giving a small laugh and Nellie a small giggle. Nellie then swallowed the lump in her throat, the one she gained when Rune gave her a smile.

"Hey Rune?" she asked with a nervous tone.

"Yeah?" Rune replied as he stretched, placing a wing over her.

With that act, Nellie grew more confidant and gave Rune a pleading yet flushed look.

"Can we,..you know, again?" Nellie asked.

Rune was surprised by this and chuckled, nuzzling Nellie who froze in surprise and by the feeling of pleasure that coursed through her veins.

"Of course we can, Nellie. You don't have to be so afraid about it." Rune replied with another small chuckle, nibbling her neck.

"Ohh, Runnnne..." Nellie moaned.

Rune gently pushed her onto her stomach and began trailing his kisses on her, all the way from the back of her neck to her tail. He then have the door a look as it locked, his use of Earth expertly demonstrated as the doorknob was made of wood.

"Nellie..." Rune whispered as he lowered his muzzle to her lower regions and inhaled, her scent intoxicating him.

Nellie shivered though in slight pleasure as she felt him release his breath onto her. She looked under her wings at him, becoming wetter as she saw his dragonhood reveal itself from the small flap between his legs. As more moisture built up in her cavern, Rune grew more excited. His length grew until it was an impressive 10 inches, well above average teen male dragon length as most were 5-7 inches. It was purple, veins buldged on its surface and it throbbed with his every heartbeat.

Nellie finally couldn't take it anymore and suddenly turned around, taking Rune by surprise. She pushed him onto his back before engulfing his member into her maw, earning a small moan of pleasure from him.

"Nellie-ah!" Rune remarked as she traced her tongue from the base of his draconian member to the very tip, swirling her tongue at the tip and lapping a at any premature fluid.

She then wrapped her lips around a ridge just before the tip of his member and hummed, bobbing her head up and down as she did so. Rune clutched the mattress with his claws, every fiber of his being screaming not to tear the fabric beneath him. Nellie smirked at this with a blush, a heavy haze across her eyes. Rune then surprised her by thrusting into her mouth, heightening his pleasure and inadvertently encouraging her to try harder. As he bumped her muzzle, Nellie suckled, licked, and massaged at his length.

"Nellie...I'm getting close." Rune managed to say.

Nellie then released him, earning a whine from the Dark dragon prince. However, that whine suddenly cut off as she positioned dismember between her breasts. You see, for female dragons, they are obviously often curvier than males. When it comes to their chest area, their breasts can be distinguished though not in detail thanks to the scales. However, once aroused, the scales soften and the nipples become erect, the breast become more defined and apparent.

"What are you-..nevermind..." Rune stated as she massaged his length between her breasts, their size unusually somewhat large for a female dragoness of her age.

As she did this, whenever his length reached the apex of the pumps, she would give it tiny licks before pumping it again. She did this again and again, each time allowing Rune to come closer to his climax.

"N-Nellie..I'm going to-" Rune started to say.

Nellie then pumped his member into her mouth, humming and giving it furious licks. Rune groaned in pleasure before releasing his seed into her maw. Several strands erupted from him and surprisingly, they came in copious amounts. Nellie struggled to consume them all but eventually, it overflowed and leaked out the corners of her mouth. Nellie swallowed all she managed to get before cleaning off the rest of Rune as well as licking her mouth.

"How was THAT?" Nellie asked in a smug tone.

Rune panted for a few seconds then growled, suddenly pushing her onto her back this time. He then caused her to cover her mouth as she screamed in pleasure due to the fact that he lubricated his tail with her juices before sneakily penetrating her hole...her tail hole. Rune pumped his tail in and out of her anus, earning a small moan every time. As he did this, he pleasured her even further by lapping at her slit, making sure he was equally thorough at cleaning. He flicked his tongue against her clitoris, making her moan as she produced more of her juices.

 _How's THIS, Nellie?_ Rune thought with a sinister chuckle before doubling his efforts.

He then widened his eyes in surprise as Nellie began to slowly rub his dragonhood, her tail coiled around it and pumped in unison with his. Rune mentally shook his head, finding that Nellie wouldn't just turn the pleasuring fight over to him that easily. As a few more seconds passed, Rune growled and entered her earning a gasp from Nellie as he slowly pumped in and out of her, two holes at once.

"Ohhh...Rune...Yes! Yes!" Nellie moaned as he began to plow into her at a greater pace.

Nellie squirmed as she continued to feel the ridges and bumps of Rune's dragonhood as well as the smooth, scaly bumps on his tail. Rune them surprised her by removing his tail from her lower orifice and joined it with his member in her cavern, now two extremities pumping into her snatch. Nellie shook her head, the pleasure was almost too great for her. As he thrusted into her, she met him halfway by shoving her lower regions back down against him. The act drove him deeper inside her with every thrust as well as intensify the pleasurable act of love. Nellie, wanting to make it easier for Rune, used her Water element and made her juices even slicker. Rune's member, now heavily lubricated, sloshed her juices around as he pounded into her. As their sexes made contact, Nellie's arousal leaked onto the mattress below them. Rune mentally chuckled about this and figured he would replace the sheets later.

Nellie then gripped onto Rune's back and kissed him, screaming into his mouth as she climaxed, hard, onto his waist. As her walls contracted, the act doubled as suckling his member. Rune slammed into her for one last time before he released his load, his seed coating her walls and draining into her cervix. Nellie's inner walls, however, didn't stop and milked him for every last drop. Remarkably, as Rune pulled out his tail, the act made Nellie contract and milk his member even more, causing him to climax once more. Nellie widened her eyes at this and looked at him as he moaned and hunched over her, his seed overflowing her sex and spilling slowly onto the mattress. Their essences mixed and as they wearily flopped down, a _squelch_ sounded and it was obvious that they needed a bath.

"R-Rune?" Nellie asked, exhausted but supremely satisfied.

"Yes?" Rune replied, equally satisfied but Nellie could tell in the tone of his voice and the fact that he was breathing normally tipped her that he could probably last a few more rounds.

Nellie inwardly grinned at the fact but decided not to steer away from her question. Then she sobered up and looked at him with a concerned expression.

"You do know that we can't have children, right?" she asked.

Rune's smile faded a little but it still remained. He nuzzled her and rested one of his paws over hers.

"I know, I just wish there was a way though." Rune replied, earning a nod of agreement from Nellie.

Light dragons and Dark dragons can breed. However, the result would be a dragon who can't be controlled, the combined Elements would be too much for it. Rune, being a pure Dark dragon and having all Dark Elements combined with Nellie, a Water dragon of the Light, would not mean well for their offspring.

Eventually, the two cleaned up their mess and replaced the sheets. Afterwards, Rune invited Nellie to stay the night in his dorm to which she agreed. They then went to sleep, exhaustion quickly took over their senses and they gave in.

 **In the arena...**

Aurora fired a large icicle at the giant ape dummy, rendering it immobile and in several pieces. The red glow that was surrounding it brightened and reanimated the dummy which raised its wooden club. Aurora heard rapid movement behind her and jumped, another ape dummy running passed her and into the other, sending them both tumbling. Aurora landed and as the dummies reanimated, four more surrounded her, each armed with a different weapon.

Aurora smirked and charged an **Ice Age** , the move she performed back in the Keyblade dimension. She fired it and all dummies shattered after they were turned into ice. It was at that moment Aurora noticed that the attack was similar to Ryker's **Twilight Oblivion**.

 _These dummies are way too easy for me to practice with._ Aurora thought, wondering if she should shift back into her anthromorphic form.

She then shrugged and did so, stretching her humanoid limbs and rolling her shoulders.

"I wish there was something better I can practice with. I need to get stronger." she muttered to herself before freezing.

Aurora felt that there was a pair of eyes staring at her and slowly turned around. She found that she was right, she was being watched but by whom she didn't know. There, on the other side of the arena, stood a humanoid figure cloaked in darkness. She couldn't make out any features on it except for the fact that it wore armor. She knew this because as it walked towards her, the audible clang of metal against metal sounded with every step. Aurora tried to identify it but found that she couldn't pinpoint its mind neither she could detect its scent. She then realized with a daunting that it _wanted_ her to notice it. Aurora bared her fangs and took up a defensive stance.

"Who are you?" she asked with a small warning growl.

The figure continued its progression towards her, not even breaking stride. Aurora growled even louder and summoned _Hush,_ aiming an arrow of light at it.

"I'll ask you again, WHO ARE YOU?" Aurora reiterated.

The figure stopped at the sight of her arrow and then turned its head, looking directly at her face. It shook its head which gave Aurora the feeling that it did want to talk, or it _couldn't_ talk at the moment.

"Well can you tell me what do you want?" she asked, earning movement from the figure.

It turned around and walked towards the exit of the arena. However, it then disappeared in a veil of shadows. Aurora gritted her teeth and ran after it, wondering if it really left. She ran out of the arena and looked around, finding that she was right and that it was standing in one of the hallways. As she noticed it, the figure turned and walked down the hallway.

"Wait!" she exclaimed, running to the hallway and turning into it to find that the figure was once again gone.

She ran down the hallway and found herself in the circular hallway that led to the kitchen, library, classrooms, or the combat training rooms. She stood there and looked around, finding the figure phasing through the statue and reappearing on the other side. Aurora ran after it and skidded to a stop as it led her to the Temple entrance. The figure looked at her then phased through the large double doors, leaving Aurora with the decision to continue following it which may lead to a trap or to turn around and forget about it...She chose the former.

Aurora ended up outside in the bustling city of Warfang. She scanned the area and found the figure walking amongst, no, through the crowed. The figure literally walked through the many residents who in fact did not seem to notice it. Aurora wondered if they could see it but dismissed it, deciding just to follow it to wherever it's leading her to. She maneuvered around the crowd, trying with intense effort not to lose her sight of it. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and resorted to using her wings.

As she rose into the sky and a few of the inhabitants of Warfang looked at her in wonder, the figure suddenly disappeared then reappeared at the city's edge. Aurora narrowed her eyes and dove to its location only for it to disappear again. Aurora landed and looked around, finding it nowhere to be seen. There was nobody else in the area and Aurora figured she could be more open to it and not seem strange.

"Hello? Where are you? I can't see you!" she shouted, scanning her surroundings.

However, she had no such luck and the figure was nowhere to be seen. She then looked at the line of trees which led to a large forest. For some inexplicable reason, she decided to look there. She raised her hand and moved branches away from her face as she trekked further into the forest. She also swatted numerous mosquitoes, the ones here in the Realms were about a third of the size of a basketball. She then quickened her pace, vaulting over fallen tree limbs and jumping over murky puddles. At one point, she encountered a large porcupine-like creature though it was larger and a lot more aggressive than normal ones. It tried to shoot its quills at her, another thing normal porcupines can't do, but the act was in vain as she froze its entire hostile body.

Finally, after about a couple of miles into the forest, Aurora reached a clearing. It was flat and the grass was strangely about an inch tall, none of them taller than another. There was no obstacles in the clearing which was large and circular with again, strangely, no creatures around. There was little wind in the clearing and the air was clean, Aurora breathed it in and closed her eyes. She smiled as the air filled her lungs and she exhaled, finding that it would be nice to relax here. She then opened her eyes, turning serious as she found the figure standing there with crossed arms.

"Why did you lead me here?" she asked as she stretched her arms.

For some reason, she knew it wouldn't hurt her and that the figure was...friendly.

The figure didn't answer her question, instead, it summoned a weapon though she didn't know what it was as it was covered with inky black darkness. Aurora, however, wasn't alarmed but more so intimidated. Again, she knew it wouldn't hurt her but she felt like she should draw her weapon as well. She did so and instead of summoning an arrow, she held it in its dual-bladed stance, keeping the blades stuck together as one instead of splitting it like she usually did.

The figure suddenly charged, swinging its weapon at her. Aurora quickly blocked it and her previous thoughts of the figure not hurting her was dashed away. Aurora growled and pushed back, swinging _Hush_ in a circle but the figure jumped and avoided the attack. Aurora followed it up by twirling _Hush_ and coating it with a layer of ice and Light, making the figure cocked its head at an angle. However, it didn't get into a defensive stance like she expected it to but instead, stood there calmly. Aurora then swung at it, failing to land a hit on the figure as it dodged and blocked her attacks.

"So you lead me here just to attack me?!" Aurora shouted as they exchanged blows though not inflicting a wound on the other.

The figure remained silent but surprised her by sweeping her feet out from under her. She fell back and the figure landed a small cut on her arm. Aurora winced as it stung but wondered why it didn't do worse. Aurora looked at it as it rose its weapon which was aimed for her chest. Aurora quickly rolled out of the way and brought up _Hush_ in a slicing arc. The figure simply rose its weapon and blocked it, disarming Aurora as well as it separated Aurora from _Hush_ with an impressive twitch of the wrist. It looked at Aurora who returned the look. They remained still until Aurora picked up _Hush_ with caution, keeping her eye on the figure. She then got in a defensive stance as the figure charged at her again, swinging with daunting lethality. Aurora felt scared but she knew that she couldn't die, she had to live.

She had to live for Ryker.

As soon as she reminded herself that, Aurora grew confident. She fought back, blocking and deflecting the figure's attacks. She then felt the world around her slow down except for the figure who seems to be unaffected by her sudden burst of combat adrenaline. Aurora saw an opening as she parried the last attack from it and went offensive, swinging _Hush_ in large arcs and short stabs. The figure blocked and deflected her attacks with a fair amount of effort, taking a few steps back with every few swings from her. Aurora then stabbed _Hush_ into the ground which sprouted shards of ice. The figure had to jump to avoid being impaled which was exactly what she had planned. She appeared behind it and struck, landing a stab through its abdomen.

She landed and so did the figure who looked at its wound. Aurora noticed with wide eyes that it wasn't even bleeding, instead, a gaping hole of shadows occupied the area of suppose-to-be injury. The figure then looked at her which sent her into a defensive stance.

 _Let's hope I get lucky again._ Aurora thought to herself.

However, the figure surprised her by subtly nodding at her before turning around and disappearing, making her wonder what in the hell just happened.

 **Later...**

"And why didn't you tell us?" Aniu asked as they are their meal.

Cyrus, Aniu, Gray, Aurora, Savron, and Tina, Cyrus' mate, were in the fields eating stir fry which was some vegetables and sheep meat.

"I don't know but I felt like I just had to follow it." Aurora replied as she ate a steamed carrot.

"Shouldn't you be wondering why it didn't kill you?" Tina asked.

Tina was a Lightning dragoness. She had bronze-colored scales that shined like gold in the sunlight. She didn't have any horns but her ridged claws made up for it. Her underbelly was tan as were the membranes of her wings. Her eyes were a striking cobalt color and her tail ended in a normal point.

"I've actually been wondering that the entire time since." Aurora replied, looking at her arm.

The cut was gone, completely missing and there was no scar to be seen. The thing was, she didn't heal it. Her cut disappeared after her small battle with the figure ended. In fact, her whole body felt rejuvenated ever since it disappeared to who knows where.

"And you couldn't identify it at all? Nothing?" Gray asked as Savron gave a small burp.

"Excuse me." Savron stated with a small embarrassed chuckle.

"Jeez, Sav." Cyrus remarked with a laugh.

The rest of them laughed as well and it lasted for a few seconds before they finally quieted down.

"But no, I couldn't figure out what it was. It was friendly, then hostile, then friendly again." Aurora answered in response to Gray.

"Hey guys! Have any of you seen Voltlyn? I've been looking for her the entire afternoon."

They turned to see a white-scaled dragon. He had a muscular figure and along with his blood-red eyes, he had five black horns. There was two horns at the top of his head that were curved upwards, two underneath his lower jaw that gutted out towards them, and one at the tip of his snout. The membranes of his wings were black as well and his tail ended in a sharp metal tip. He had black spikes that led from the back of his neck to the end of his tail and several more that lined his wings.

Behind him, a dragoness with white scales as well stood with a smile on her face. She had glowing red sigils on her sides and blue-green eyes like Cyrus. She had four horns on her head like a crown. Her wings had black membranes and her tail ended in a bladed tip.

"Lyrith! Hope! Haven't seen you two for a while. Oh, Mom misses you Hope, you should go see her later." Cyrus remarked as he hugged his sister and shook Lyrith's paw.

"Voltlyn is out shopping, Lyrith. She'll be back soon." Savron answered.

Lyrith nodded and gave them all a serious look, his muzzle thinned and his eyes hard.

"We WILL prevail against those Destroyers, won't we?" he asked, his voice questioning though he sort of already knew the answer.

"Of course we will, we all just need to work together and everything should go along just fine." Aurora immediately replied, her tone full of confidence and obvious determination.

The others nodded in agreement and Lyrith broke out in a smile with a nod. All of a sudden, he was tackled behind from a dragoness and the two crashed into the ground. The group sounded with laughter as Lyrith got up and gave his attacker a glare.

She had bronze-colored scales with lightning patterns that streaked across her body. Her horns were assembled like a tiara on the top of her head, they too were bronze though of a lighter shade. Her underbelly was bright yellow as we're the membranes of her wings and her eyes were a brilliant blue topaz color. Her tail ended it a spiked tip though every now and then, it sparked with electricity.

"Miss me, Lyr?" she asked with a small giggle as Lyrith blushed.

"Yeah, yeah, come here." he replied as they two hugged each other.

Voltlyn looked at the rest of them and blushed, finally realizing that she was being watched by an audience. Lyrith noticed this and chuckled, giving her a look that told her it was alright.

"Any plans for today besides training?" Lyrith asked.

"I'm going to spend the night at Rune's, he needs his older sister to help him with his studies." Hope replied with a roll of her eyes as well as a smile.

"I'm doing nothing for the rest of the day after training." Savron stated.

"Tina and I are going to help Gray and Aniu with soldier placement, we probably won't be free until past sundown." Cyrus added with an exaggerated sigh that earned him a smack on the muzzle from Tina who shook her head in disapproval.

They looked at Aurora who finished her meal and began polishing her teeth. She only noticed them staring when she heard Lyrith cough.

"Oh. I'm free for the rest of the day. Why do you ask?" she asked with a slightly embarrassed chuckle.

"No reason, just curious." Lyrith replied as he sat down on his haunches.

He then noticed Aurora suddenly freeze in motion, her eyes locked on something behind him. Lyrith turned around with confusion and at first, he didn't notice anything out not the ordinary. He scanned the area and tried sniffing the air.

"What's wrong, Aurora?" Aniu asked as she waved a paw to and fro in front of Aurora's eyes.

Lyrith continued to scan until he finally noticed a dark spot in his field of vision. He narrowed his eyes and growled as he made out what he saw. Standing there, atop a cliff a mile or so away, was a figure cloaked in darkness. Lyrith couldn't tell anything from it except that it was bipedal and the gleam suggested that it wore armor.

"Do you guys see that?" he asked, gesturing towards at the direction of the figure.

"...Who is that?" Aniu asked as she noticed Aurora suddenly moving.

"We have to follow it." Aurora stated as she prepared to take flight though she was stopped by Gray who held her arm.

"Are you serious? Whatever that is, it's dangerous. It attacked you earlier, didn't it?" he warned with a questioning tone.

"But if it's dangerous, why isn't it attacking us now?" Aurora retorted as she withdrew her hand from his grip.

"Maybe because it's a trap." Savron commented, warning a nod of agreement from the rest of them.

Aurora gave them all a look and shook her head as she unfurled her wings.

"I'm going." she stated with finality as she took flight.

"Aurora!" Aniu shouted before taking off after her in her wolf form, Gray doing the same.

The others looked at the retreating two with surprise before snapping out of it and following them.

"What do you want?" Aurora shouted as the figure began maneuvering through the trees and such.

Behind her, the rest of them were trying to catch up to her but cannot do so due to her amazing speed. Aurora growled when the figure moved out of her field of vision and transformed into her **Natural Form** , beating her four wings harder and doubling her speed. She flew farther away from her companions and the figure was back in her vision again. However, this time, it was running directly through the trees.

The chase took them across Warfang and into the Great Planes. The large field thrived with lush, green plant life as well as having a very clean air to breathe in. The trees in the are were enormous, towering over them by at least a dozen meters.

Aurora suddenly landed as the figure stopped. It turned around and held out its hand. Aurora stared at it, finding it to be a large white diamond filled with rainbow-colored energy that flowed throughout it. The figure tossed it at her as Aurora transformed and caught it. The figure then disappeared again, leaving no trace of its existence.

"Dont take off like that next time!" Savron panted as the rest of them caught up to her.

"Where did it go?" Tina asked, noticing the diamond.

"I don't know, but it gave me this before going." Aurora replied as she showed them the diamond.

There dragons' eyes widened as they registered what she was hiding.

"Aurora, that's a Grand Light diamond. Those things are extremely rare and can store huge amounts of Light energy!" Lyrith announced, inspecting it though not touching it.

Aurora looked at the diamond, wondering why the figure had given it to her. Her attention then redirected to Cyrus who cleared his throat.

"This changes things completely. One Grand Light diamond alone can really help us take out the Destroyers. Aurora, protect that diamond and keep it safe. Those things have a 1 to 150 in terms of finding one." he remarked.

"But why give it to us? And why lead us all the way out here?" Gray asked.

Aurora looked at the diamond once more then took a look at her surroundings.

"I don't know _why_ it gave this to us. As for where we are, it probably knew the value of this led us out here in case someone saw it. If it's as rare and valuable as you say, I bet there's some that would be willing to buy or steal this from us. Maybe even as far as killing us to get to it." she explained.

"So that thing is...nice?" Voltlyn asked, earning a shrug of the shoulders from the rest of them.

They remained silent for a moment before Savron finally couldn't take it anymore.

"So how did you three transform like that?" he asked, looking at Gray and Aniu who didn't transform into their anthromorphic forms yet.

They looked at him, realization suddenly dawning upon them.

 _Oh,...riiiight._ Gray responded.

 **Night...**

"Ow! Savron, what the FUCK was that for?!" Cyrus bellowed as he held his head in pain.

Savron chuckled as he shook his head, happy that he didn't get hurt as much in the headbutt.

"For making that comment in front of my mother, asshole." he replied as they walked out of Cynder's quarters.

They turned a corner and noticed Aurora taking a lazy cruise in the sky, her features silhouetted by the light of the moon. They watched her fly out of sight and into her dorm window which closed soon afterwards.

"Just because I said "I choked on it." doesn't mean you get to say "That's what she said." in front of her...It was funny though." Savron added a Cyrus dropped his glare with a small laugh.

Aurora overheard their conversation from her room and rolled her eyes with a smile.

 _Boys. All they think about is sports and sex._ she thought to herself jokingly.

She then hummed as she made her way to her bed, rearranging some cushions to her liking. She then plopped down a sigh, exhausted from the day's activities. A few moments passed before she finally opened her eyes with a serious expression. She looked over at the window and her eyes glowed as it opened. The glow disappeared when she was done though she still retained the same expression.

 _What was that? How does it know that a Grand Light diamond would help? Is it trying to help us or is this some kind of trick?_

Aurora shook her head vigorously, attempting to clear her mind of extremely active thoughts. Just then, a knock sounded on her door and she jumped with surprise.

"Aurora? It's me. I brought the materials you wanted." Rune called out from the other side of the door.

 _Perfect. Just what I need to get my mind of things._ Aurora thought with relief as she unlocked the door.

Rune heard the click and opened the door, surprised to find Aurora some distance away on her bed.

"How did you-?" he started with confusion.

 _Psychic abilities._ she answered with a smile as she saw the shocked expression on his face.

She then got up as Rune brandished a bag full of toothpicks with another confused expression.

"What do you need these for?" he asked with a furrowed brow.

Aurora transformed into her anthromorphic form and grabbed the bag from him, spilling the toothpicks onto a single spot in the center of her room. She then picked up two toothpicks and placed the ends together at a perpendicular angle. She froze the connecting point and grabbed two more toothpicks, arranging them the same way then freezing them as well. Finally, she connected the four toothpicks into a square shape and froze them together.

"I'm making a house model with these." she finally answered.

"For what?" Rune asked as he sat across from her.

"To distract myself." she replied, hoping he wouldn't try to dig any further.

To her relief, Rune didn't. Instead, he helped her assemble the toothpicks with his Shadow elements as she froze the joints together.

"Shouldn't you be at home with Nellie?" Aurora asked with an amused smile.

"She's actually with her mom, well, also my mother-in-law, right now. She won't be back for the rest of the night so I guess this gives me something to do. If you don't, of course." he replied with a small chuckle to which Aurora shook her head with a smile.

They continued to assemble the toothpicks until they were finished to what seemed to be a triangle roof for the house. However, it was larger than expected so they figured it might end up being a mansion when they're done. By this time, half an hour had passed and another knock sounded on the door.

"Hello? I heard voices in here and since you're still awake, I'm wondering if you would like some pie." a female voice sounded from behind the door.

Aurora recognized the voice as Ember, Flame's wife and The Temple's cook, and smiled.

"Come on in!" she called out and Ember walked in.

She had light pink scales and a tarnish underbelly. Her eyes were a cobalt blue and her two horns that curved back were nearly golden color. Her wing membranes were tarnish as well and they matched with her tail tip. In her paw was a strawberry pie that made Rune's mouth water.

"Would you two like some? If not, I'll go look for others who do." she said with a sweet smile.

"Yes please!" Rune said as he got up and walked over to a happy Ember.

She served a a large slice and looked at Aurora who nodded. Ember handed Aurora a slice and after they each had a couple of slices, she began to walk out of the room.

"Alright now, I'll see you two later! Good night!" she said as she waved, the other two waving back with smiles before we left.

"She's nice, isn't she?" Rune asked as he and Aurora began to assemble more toothpicks.

"Very. Almost motherly." Aurora replied with a chuckle as she polished one of her teeth.

 **At the Pack...**

Demon stretched as he looked at the sky, the sun blazing and not a cloud in sight.

 _It's going to be a good day._ he thought to himself with a nod.

He then ran out of the cave and took part in a small trot, leaving the den and into the outer forest. As he did so, he took a scan of his surroundings. He smiled, remembering that the area was the same place where him and Aniu first met.

 **(Flashback)**

 _A dark-red, black blur sped across the plains, chasing after a fair-sized deer. The quarry leaped with grace though the blur, a semi-large wolf, sprinted across the land with amazing ease. The deer bolted around the trees, trying to shake off the wolf. The wolf growled in amusement before releasing his energy and surging forward, instantly gaining on his prey._

 _He then pounced, his claws just inches away from the deer's hind. All of a sudden, a white blur tackled the deer to the side, the wolf skidding to a stop to try and process what had happened. He looked to his left and saw another wolf, one of snow white fur and amber eyes. Her jaws were around the deer's head which nearly collapsed under her grip. The she-wolf ignored him as he pawed closer to her._

 _ **Excuse me, that's my prey.**_ _the black-red wolf stated though received a growl from the she-wolf._

 _ **Wrong, this deer is my prey. It has been from the beginning. It just got away from me but thanks to you, I'm reunited with it.**_ _the she-wolf retorted._

 _ **How so? I never saw you chasing it.**_ _the black wolf replied._

 _The she-wolf gave him a look and turned the deer over, revealing a small and barely noticeable bite mark on its thigh. The black wolf took a deep breath then sighed, giving the she-wolf an apologetic look._

 _ **My apologies. I didn't notice that. You can have it.**_ _the black wolf stated before turning around to walk off._

 _His ears then perked up as he heard an amused snort from the she-wolf. He turned around to see the she-wolf smiling with suppressed laughter._

 _ **Is there something funny I should know about?**_ _the black wolf asked._

 _ **I'm sorry. It's just *laughs* I never heard of a Dark wolf with manners or one knowing when to back down like that before.**_ _the she-wolf replied, her eyes showed amusement._

 _The black wolf frowned and growled, his eyes narrowing and his fangs gleaming as the sun passed overhead._

 _ **Oh? Well I never heard of a Light wolf with such an ugly laugh before. Oh, right, it's ALL Light wolves.**_ _the black wolf angrily replied._

 _The she-wolf stopped laughing and gave the Dark wolf a glare, her eyes showed fury. She growled and stalked up to the Dark wolf, their muzzles nearly touching._

 _ **Want to repeat that?**_ _the Light she-wolf asked._

 _ **Deaf too? My, the list keeps on growing.**_ _the Dark wolf replied with a sneer._

 _The she-wolf suddenly shoved him, causing the Dark wolf to fall into his side. At that moment, she pounced on him, biting at his neck. However, the Dark wolf wouldn't let her win and swiped at her chest, making her jump back. The Dark wolf got up and growled, his muzzle scrunched up and his muscle tensing. His icy blue eyes seem to glow with intense anger. The she-wolf growled as well, waiting for the Dark wolf to make his move._

 _The Dark wolf suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind her, nipping her hind leg. The she-wolf yelped and turned around to snap at him but he was already gone. Frustrated, the she-wolf closed her eyes and focused, leaving herself open. The Dark wolf then reappeared above her but she had already sensed him. She fired a flare of Light which blinded him, she took this chance and shoved him into a tree. The Dark wolf got up and snarled at her, he ran at her but she ended up taking off._

 _He chased her through the trees, much like how he had been chasing the deer. His eyes narrowed as she neared closer and closer, him being just a few feet away from her. Finally, when he thought he had her, he pounced, intending to catch her. However, the she-wolf turned and the Dark wolf widened his eyes as a pond came into view._

 _The she-wolf turned around to see the Dark wolf crash into the pond. She cocked her head at an angle, wondering if he was alright. She then dismissed the thought as the Dark wolf rose out of the water, a lily pad atop his head. The she-wolf suddenly bursted into laughter, falling onto her side as she began to tear up. The Dark wolf looked confused then grew angry at her._

 _ **What now?**_ _he asked as she got up._

 _She then walked over to him, stepping into the pond and stopping in front of him. He was about to ask another question but was interrupted as she pulled the lily pad off his head, revealing a frog on his head. She nabbed it with her jaw and showed it to him, the frog giving a small_ _ ***ribbit***_ _before she tossed it into the water._

 _ **Oh.**_ _the Dark wolf stated as the she-wolf began laughing again._

 _To her surprise, to the both of them actually, the Dark wolf began laughing as well. His chuckles mingled with her giggles as they thought about the image of him and a frog atop his head._

 _ **I have to admit, that was a little funny.**_ _he commented._

 _ **Really funny.**_ _the she-wolf countered as she let out a few more chuckles._

 _The Dark wolf smiled and nudged her, making her stop._

 _ **I'm sorry about what I said before. I didn't mean it. You actually have a beautiful laugh.**_ _the Dark wolf told her._

 _The she-wolf widened her eyes in surprise and blushed but she gave a small smile._

 _ **I'm sorry as well for my remark about Dark wolves.. Would you like to share a meal with me?**_ _the she-wolf replied, catching the Dark wolf off guard._

 _ **I-I-I-um, Well, I-I**_ _the Dark wolf stuttered, taking a step back._

 _The she-wolf giggled once more before stepping out of the pond, walking back to her kill sight. She turned her head to look at him, gesturing to her destination. The Dark wolf gave her a look of questioning before shaking his head and following her. He walked by her side and for the first time, he noticed her hips sway with each of her steps. He saw how her tail looked nicely kept as well as her fur, soft no doubt. Her slender though slightly built legs were a sight, as well as her visage. Her eyes sparkled in the light and her teeth were pearly white._

 _ **What's your name?**_ _she suddenly asked, snapping the Dark wolf out of it._

 _ **I'm Demon, a lone-wolf. And you?**_ _he asked._

 _The she-wolf look startled upon hearing his status but shook her head before replying._

 _ **My name is Aniu, Beta of my pack.**_ _she replied._

 _ **Beta? That's a high position. Just one step away.**_ _Demon replied._

 _Aniu shrugged and gave him a look. She noticed how his fur was short enough for her to see his muscles bulge with every step. She saw how his fur shined red though the color was black. His blue eyes were alluring and his tail hanging low, the fur on it and the rest of his body kept though covered with dirt in a spot or two._

 _ **Uh..*shakes head* Yeah, one day, I'll challenge for the Alpha position. That, or I'll wait for him to die.**_ _Aniu finally replied._

 _They reached the deer and Aniu graciously offered half of the dear to Demon, of whom gratefully accepted. As they ate, they exchanged ideas and thoughts as well as stories of their pasts._

 **(Flashback End)**

 _One thing led to another and now, we're mates._ Demon thought as he walked up to the same pond he fell into back then.

He chuckled as he saw a frog leap from pad to pad. He then froze and sniffed the air, dread filling him as a very sweet scent filled his nostrils.

 _Damn...It's heat season._ he thought as a she-wolf walked into view.

She had brown fur though that was all Demon saw before he turned around to walk away.

 _Hey there, handsome. Mind playing with me?_ the female asked, cutting him off.

Demon shook his head and backed away, ignoring her scent and lusty expression.

 _I'm in a hurry. I'm sorry but I don't have the time to play with you._ Demon replied.

He knew her mind was overridden by her heat so he tried to be patient with her. He had hoped she let him go but the female cut him off again.

 _Are you sure? You look...fitting._ the female told him as she snuck a peek between his legs.

Demon moved passed her but once again, she cut him off though with a pleading look this time.

 _Please...I need you to help me. It burns...itches. I need this._ she whined as she turned around.

She leaned onto her chest and raised her rear, presenting herself to him. Her moist sex dribbled with her fluids and trailed down one of her hind legs. Her womanhood was puffy as well, the discharge leaking in small amounts though slightly colored red due to bleeding. Her clitoris was visible too, due to her whole sex organ being enlarged as a effect of heat season.

Demon looked around and sighed in relief as he saw a male wolf strolling around though stopping to sniff the air.

 _Over there! He might take you!_ Demon told her before running off.

The female looked at the other male wolf and made her way towards him, her fluids dripping onto the grass behind her. Demon, after giving himself a good distance away, turned around and saw the male wolf mounting the female, thrusting into her with a slow pace at first which then turned into rapid. Demon shook his head and made his way back to the den, hoping there wouldn't be any more encounters such as that.

Once he entered the den, Ally came into view. She caught his disturbed look and frowned.

"Is there something wrong, Demon?" she asked, walking up to him.

Demon stiffened at the question and shook his head feverishly. He then cleared his throat and tried to breathe calmly.

 _No! There isn't anything wrong haha...ha.._ he replied, trailing off.

Ally arched an eyebrow and sniffed him, catching the scent.

"Demon," she said in an accusatory tone, "why do I smell female on you?" Ally asked as she tapped her feet.

Demon sighed and gave her the memory of what had happened. A few moments later, Ally blushed madly and covered her mouth with her hand, utterly speechless.

 _Yeah. That happened._ Demon said in an awkward tone before he walked passed her, leaving her there to contemplate the memory.

Demon shook his head, ridding the thoughts of the earlier events. He then inwardly whined, his plan to have a nice walk ruined and Aniu wasn't there to comfort him. At the thought of her, Demon looked at the sky and stared at the passing clouds. He smiled at one of them, it being shaped like a wolf and the white color reminded him of her fur. He then frowned, growling and clawing at the ground violently.

 _Aniu, dear, you'd BETTER come back safely._ he thought to himself before realizing what he was doing to the ground.

He stopped his clawing and walked to the cave, meeting Rasha on the way. He smiled and nudged her, receiving a smile from her as well.

 _Are you doing well?_ he asked.

She gave him a confused look and then smiled with a small laugh.

 _Of course I am, Dad! How else would I be?_ she responded as she gave him a toothy smile.

 _I mean, do you need more help with the children?_ Demon told her with a chuckle.

Rasha made an understanding expression and shook her head, nudging him.

 _It's okay Dad, they're older now and it won't be long before they are adults._

Demon chuckled once more and together, they walked over to the cave. When the reached the entrance, Rasha groaned and slouched forward, Demon having a questioning expression.

 _Uh, is there something I should know about?_ he asked.

She gestured towards Vulcan, who was stretching his arms.

 _It's him. I mean, I love the big lug and he's a great part of the family. It's just that his exercises are SO TIRING._ she said with a laugh as well as emphasis on her last statement, Vulcan jumping as he overheard the words as she intended to.

Vulcan gave her an apologetic look to which she responded to with a carefree laugh. He smiled and scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry. I'll tone it down some. It's just that we need to prepare for when it's time we save **Axathr** _ **.**_ " he replied, his eyes flashed sadness then fury for a quick second at the thought of Ryker in imprisonment.

The other two looked confused at his last statement and Demon cocked his head at an angle.

 _What did you just say?_ Demon asked.

Vulcan gave a confused look of his own, wondering what did they mean. He then made an "Oh" motion with his mouth.

"Oh, sorry. Each Fenrir has his or her own Elder Name once they reach a certain part in their adult lives. It's very rare for that to happen though, only Fenrir with true mastery over their abilities receive one. Ryker reached that point already back when we got reunited. His Elder Name, **Axathr,** probably sounded foreign to you since it's in The Lost Language, a very very old, possibly the oldest language there is. I only know a few words of it but I believe brother is fluent in it." Vulcan explained.

 _Oh, interesting. What does..._ _ **Axathr**_ _mean?_ Rasha asked, trying but failing to pronounce the name correctly.

"Well, it means "Lord of the Alphas." When he received it, I couldn't read his face though." Vulcan replied.

 _Wait, who gave it to him?_ Rasha asked, still trying to comprehend the whole matter.

"No one. It was kind of...born onto him... You remember about the family brands, right?" Vulcan replied.

The other two nodded and Vulcan leaned against the cave wall.

"As you know, each Fenrir has their own unique family brands. All mean different things. My brother's mean...Anyways, there's one spot on him that isn't completely covered by them, the middle of his chest. The day he earned his Elder Name, the symbol appeared there and when he got it, he looked really...distant." he added.

 _Do you have one?_ Demon asked, long since interested.

Vulcan chuckled and shook his head, amusement plastered on his face.

"Nay, as far as I know, only Ryker and The Philosopher reached that point. My brother is in the only one in the family to have one, to look the way we last saw him. I tell you, there's no other Fenrir in history that had blades sticking out of their bodies or have abilities as great as my brother. I doubt I can ever reach that point." Vulcan answered, earning looks of awe from the two.

 _Not even your parents?_ Rasha asked, receiving a shake of the head from Vulcan.

That day, Rasha and Demon thought of Ryker with a new light.

 **Later..**

"Uh, what's wrong with them?" Ragna asked, pointing at Demon and Rasha, both were staring off to the distance.

Vulcan chuckled and shrugged, earning a look from Ragna.

"They look like zombies." Saphira remarked, poking at Rasha who remained still.

Ragna and Saphira also wanted to help with freeing Ryker and the two arrived just that morning. They were currently in an area of the cave where only the inner family can reside. Ragna and Saphira were exceptions due to their relations to Ryker as well as their statuses.

"Do they exist? Just wondering." Vulcan asked, genuinely curious.

Saphira chuckled and shook her head, giving Ragna an amused look as he did the same.

"No, but on our travels, there were some beings that might as well be zombies. Human-flesh eaters, decaying bodies but active, "I want your brains." and the works." she answered as she decided to braid Rasha's fur.

Ragna brought out a hot pink marker from seemingly out of nowhere. He then crouched in front of Demon, whistling as he began to draw doodles of rainbows and such on the Dark wolf's muzzle which was somewhat a lighter shade than the rest of his fur.

"Fun." Ragna remarked as he did his work.

Vulcan sweat-dropped and shook his head, rolling his shoulders as they popped.

"Hey guys! Have you seen Alara?" a voice sounded.

They turned to see Rick, or Aeruthael, walking up to them. He was wearing a sports jacket and jeans and sunglasses hung upside down behind his head.

Rick and Alara also decided to help out. They brought soldiers to help train the wolves of the Pack to find in their anthromorphic or human forms, if the situation calls for it. Maiyu, Sheerah, and Harmony came as well though Rick told them to stay out of the battle when the time comes.

A blur ran past Rick and jumped, giggling as it landed in Vulcan's arms.

"Uncle Vulcan! Play with me please!" Sheerah announced, now a Kirlia.

They all chuckled at the sight as Vulcan carried Sheerah through the air like she was an airplane. All of a sudden, Sheerah disappeared and Vulcan looked around in panic.

"What did I tell you about playing airplane with her after she eats?" a young Gardevoir admonished, appearing with Sheerah in her arms.

The Gardevoir had slim jeans on and her t-shirt matched her eyes perfectly. Her bangs were moved to one side though her hair was longer than most.

"Sorry, I didn't know she ate." Vulcan said with a chuckle.

"Maiyu, dear, have you seen your cousin Alara anywhere?" Rick asked with a chuckle as Sheerah jumped from her cousin's arms into his own.

"Have you checked the cave? I thought that she wanted to watch over Aleu for Balto and Jenna since they left to hunt." Maiyu replied as she shook her head at the sight of Ragna drawing on Demon and Saphira braiding Rasha's fur.

"Yes, I am watching Aleu." Alara stated as she appeared out of the blue, a sleeping Aleu in her arms.

Alara was wearing a sweater but still wore the traditional Gardevoir dress garment. Her hair was cut short, the ends curling up around her head. Rick looked Maiyu and whistled, nodding.

"Good call, Maiyu." he told her and received Maiyu's signature thumbs-up in return.

"What do you need me for, baby?" Alara asked, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

"I was actually just planning to meet you for a...private talk." he told her with a whisper at the last couple of words.

He hoped that no one else heard and luckily, mostly, no one did save for Vulcan whose ear twitched.

Alara gave Rick a smile and nodded, handing Aleu to Vulcan who cradled her. Alara and Rick then disappeared to who knows where.

"Looks like we have all the friends and allies we need to save him." Ragna remarked, putting his marker away after admiring his handiwork.

Vulcan then had an idea at that moment, handing Aleu over to Ragna who marveled how soft her fur is.

"Not all." Vulcan said before opening a portal.

Opening a portal is one of the only things he could do now since Ryker sealed his powers. He then walked into it and left without a trace, leaving them confused with the two still frozen wolves.

 **Back with Aurora and Rune...**

It was dawn and they had finally finished the house, no, mansion model of toothpicks. Rune yawned and scratched the back of his head wearily, smacking his lips to moisten them. He looked at Aurora who was giving him an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to keep you up with me." she told him with a frown.

Rune gave a small laugh, shaking his head and smiling brightly disregarding his fatigue.

"Oh no, it's fine. I don't mind. Plus, I couldn't sleep yesterday anyway." he replied.

He saw her confused look and shrugged his shoulders, looking out her window with a distant look.

"Nightmares, and rarely, lucid dreaming. I've been having them for about a few days now." he answered, stretching his back.

Aurora nodded in understanding and sighed, looking at Rune with a worried expression.

"Have you actually looked into it with someone? Or maybe found a solution to it?" she asked.

Rune shook his head and rubbed his eyes, yawning as he flared his wings to stretch them. Aurora arched her eyebrows and got up, walking over to Rune and sitting at his side. He gave her a questioning look but she simply smiled and patted his shoulder.

"You want to talk to me about it? I have ears." she told him in an offering tone.

Rune gave her a shake of the head and a appreciative smile.

"Nah, I don't want to bother you or anyone else with it." he responded though Aurora reciprocated and shook her head.

"Its fine, really. I'm your friend and as your friend, it's my job to listen." Aurora paused and gave a small smile. "I know someone who thinks like you, he likes to keep his burdens and problems all to himself. But, he knows me and some others are here for him."

Rune looked at the floor for a few moments. He wondered who this person might be, if this person really does has the same issues. Aurora waited for his reply, wondering what could he be thinking.

"I dreamt that we were all we were all in a huge battle. Everyone around me was fighting, blood everywhere and battle cries. I don't think it's about the upcoming battle between us and Lygon but..."

Aurora nodded as she listened to him. Already she explained to Rune and the rest of her dragon allies about her situation back in Kanto. To her surprise, they agreed to help her, they even went as far as agreeing to help even if she didn't help them with the Destroyers. They were warming friends with great hearts.

"..and then this part happens, and it always scares me to the core: An echoing howl fills my ears and later, something in the distance explodes. Then, all of these...shadows end up bowing to something, including me and the rest of my family." Rune finished, shuddering as he recounted the last bit of his nightmares.

"What do you mean by "shadows", Rune?" Aurora asked, noticing the thoughtful look on his face.

"...I don't know what they were. All I know is that they were hard to see and their movements remind me of shadows." Rune replied.

"...Hmm...shadows." Aurora pondered out loud with a frown.

Rune shrugged and got up, heading for the door.

"Its whatever. I'm planning to get myself a Dream Crystal soon anyways so the nightmares should go away." He yawned and turned the knob on the door, looking back at her with a smile. "Thanks for listening though. I definitely feel lighter and the burden doesn't seem too...burdensome."

Rune chuckled as Aurora smiled and nodded, he waved farewell to her and left as she got up and stretched as well. Aurora then took a look at the model she and Rune had built. She shook her head and chuckled to herself, picking up the model and turning it to and fro.

"Now what am I going to do with you?" she asked aloud, eyeing the carefully joined joints.

She then yawned and set the model down onto her desk, turning it so that the front was facing out towards the window. She then changed into her **Altered Form** and settled down onto her mattress and sighed heavily, fatigue finally kicking in. She shook her head, realizing that she was really more tired than she had felt. So tired in fact, her eyes didn't feel relief whenever she blinked.

 _Ryker...Ryker...Ryker..I miss you._ she thought wearily and with wanting.

 _ **I miss you too**_ _._

Aurora froze, cranking her neck to her right to see Ryker in his Fenrir form, equivalent to her **Altered Form** though he was a few heads taller than her. Aurora's heart skipped a few beats as he leaned in nibbled her neck lovingly, licking her muzzle and such. The entire time, Aurora was frozen, her mind lost in confusion. She looked up at her mate, seeing him giving her a confused look.

 _ **What's wrong? Don't you love me?**_ he asked, his voice somewhat distorted.

 _Of course I do, Ryker. I love you with all my heart!_ she replied, finding that for some reason that she wasn't able to move.

Ryker frowned, his expression downcast. He then turned around and walked away, Aurora panicking with his every step.

 _No! Ryker! Come back! Please! RYKER!_ she pleaded but still struggled to move.

Ryker's image disappeared, though in place of him, a very large dark-purple dragon walked up to her. His eyes were contracted into draconic slits, the irises an evil yellow. He had many great golden horns that were sprouted around his head though they were of a few shades darker than the bright gold of Spyro's. His pale-yellow underbelly was covered in scars, his scales as well but they were polished like that of the shoes of a business man. His claws were gleaming brightly though she spotted some ancient blood stains on them. His monstrous wings were tattered though Aurora doubted that their condition would keep the dragon grounded. To top it all off, he was humongous, being about as tall as Ryker.

The dragon took a look at Aurora and boomed in sinister laughter, Aurora tensed as his aura engulfed her, it being of a powerful magnitude.

 _ **"Pathetic. See how he walked out on you? You deserve more than that."**_ the dragon told her as he trailed a claw along her jawline.

Aurora wanted with her whole being to sever the dragon's claw from the rest of his paw but she found that she still couldn't move.

 _Don't you dare talk about him that way! And who are you?!_ Aurora lashed out with her mind, her voice demanding.

The dragon looked surprised for a moment before giving her an impressed expression.

 _ **"My, what a strong will you've got. As for what I said,"**_ the dragon narrowed his eyes and growled, his pearly white teeth shining, _**"I'll say whatever, whenever I want."**_

The dragon sat on his haunches, and air of pride seemed to surround him.

 _ **"You will do we to remember my name. It is I, Malefor, Dark Master of the Realms."**_ he announced, his voice booming in her ears.

Aurora gritted her teeth, growling though that was all she could do.

 _You can't be. Spyro and Cynder made sure of that._ she spat as she felt her control was slowly regaining.

 _ **"Bah! Those two were lucky. I am alive because Darkness will always be around, whether you like it or not. My influence will spread and there's nothing you could do to stop that. I'm sorry, but your plan to rescue your pathetic love will be postponed."**_ Malefor responded with laughter as his aura seemed to expand.

Aurora's body was all of a sudden covered with corrupted shades, black glyphs were appearing all over her head and back. Her fur began turning into some shades of purple and her eyes were beginning to turn a sickly yellow.

 _ **..you're pathetic love..postponed...**_

At that last remark, Aurora felt something inside her snap. She growled and her eyes flashed with a wild rage. Malefor stepped back as a warm light began to bathe Aurora's body, to whom of which is slowly getting up with triumph. The glyphs of corruption in her body dissipated and her fur color turned back to normal. Her eyes flashed blue, the same glorious deep-blue, sapphire color that she knew Ryker loved staring into as he told her once before.

Aurora took a step forward, a ring of Light expanded from her position and Malefor's aura shrunk as her will quickly began to overpower his.

 _ **"Impossible! No one has ever withstood my influence that easily!"**_ Malefor shouted in denial.

Aurora blinked and her eyes were then emitting Light, Malefor squinted as he was reminded of white halos. As Aurora got closer, Malefor's hold on his anchor to the Temple began to weaken. He tried to attack her with his influence but they were banished within moments.

 _I will not fail, Malefor. I WILL rescue him. I LOVE him as he loves me._ Aurora told him as she came face to face with him, her Light almost burning Malefor as she was very close even though it was only his astral projection that was there. Aurora growled once more. _There's NOTHING that YOU or ANYONE ELSE can do to change that!_

Aurora fired a small-scale orb of Light from her maw, Malefor's echoing scream rang as it made contact with his image. The next second, he was gone, all traces of him gone. Aurora shook her head vigorously, relaxing and calming down a bit. She looked at herself and released all the tension within her, physical and mental. The glow around her body dimmed back to its normal intensity and the glow from her eyes did so as well.

Aurora sighed as she flopped down onto her mattress in exhaustion, her mind was slowly beginning to slip into unconsciousness.

 _I'll warn the others once I get some sleep.._ she thought before passing out.

 **Well of Souls...**

Malefor growled, the notice ethereal as his form was that of a dark spirit waiting for his time to be revived. Malefor's eyes glowed and again he saw Aurora though this time, the image was slowly disappearing and he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep it up for long.

 _ **"I always get what I want."**_ he said darkly as he extended his influence over to her.

Around Aurora's body, his influence began to cover her. Malefor laughed as his plan was beginning to finally come to fruition. First, Aurora would be corrupted and follow his orders to play along with the play-heroes. Then, she would sabotage them and pick them off one by one for him. They would never expect her to betray them like that. Finally, she would use the collected energy from their dying bodies to revive him by supplying his soul with their magic and his body with her own which would morph to his needs.

Malefor watched as his influence neared its way to Aurora when all of a sudden, a ring of shadows surrounded her and banished his influence. Malefor screamed and held his head in pain, glaring at the ring of darkness that suddenly disappeared when his influence returned to him.

 _ **"A formidable adversary. Lucky I won't have to directly deal with him in this world."**_

 **Back at the Pack Den...**

"Thanks again for agreeing to help us out." Vulcan announced as they stepped out of the portal.

"Of course! Alpha is a friend as well as my mentor, I'll do anything to help you get him back." Ultima replied as he took a look around him.

Ultima spotted two wolves that were frantically looking at each other, finding it strange that they were both marked with doodling on their faces.

 _Get it off! Get it off!_ Demon cried as he rubbed his face into Rasha's side, hoping that the ink would come off.

 _No! Not on me, Dad! DAD!_ Rasha exclaimed as she tried to escape from her panicking father whilst trying to wipe off the doodles on her own face.

They continued to thrash about with Ragna and Saphira on the ground, rolling around with laughter with tears leaking from their eyes. Next to them, Rick was shaking his head with a smirk, making a clicking noise with his tongue.

"So, uh, introductions?" Ultima asked as Vulcan started to chuckle.

After introducing Ultima to everyone, Vulcan led Ultima to the main cave in search for Ally. The two walked in, taking light steps in consideration for sleeping members of the Pack. When they reached a certain area of the cave, they spotted Ally sleeping on her stomach in her dragoness form. Vulcan motioned Ultima to wait and sneaked his way up to Ally. He reached her stroked her head, coaxing her awake gently.

 _Evening, Vulcan._ she said as she nuzzled him, earning a small hug from Vulcan. _Do you need something?_

Vulcan smiled and nodded, rubbing a spot underneath her jaw that he knew she loved having rubbed. He then gestured behind him with a grin.

"Someone's here to see you." he told her.

Ally arched an eyeridge and looked behind him, gasping when she saw Ultima who waved at her with a smile. She transformed into her human form and walked over to Ultima, hugging him with a laugh.

"How have you been, _Dovakhiin_?" she asked as they separated.

"I decided to help you all out like the big, strong man I am." Ultima said in a pretend deep tone.

The other two laughed and Ultima joined in on it, all three of them cherishing the moment of close relationship. Vulcan then looked Rick and yawned, already feeling tired for the day.

"Hey, Rick? Do you know where Vargulf and Grace went?" he asked, smacking his lips as he moistened his lips.

The Gallade nodded, gesturing towards the east past the forest.

"They went to the Kanto Army base. They said that if we are going to rescue Ryker, some firepower wouldn't hurt." he answered as said former Special Forces suddenly appeared behind him.

"We got the gear!" Grace shouted to them as they looked at the haul.

In Grace's and Vargulf's arms were large boxes and the two set them down with a huff. The rest of the group walked over and as the Mightyena and Ninetales opened the boxes.

"Roark wouldn't permit us using firearms...greedy monkey.. But, we did managed to convince him to let us use these." Vargulf explained as they took a look at the contents within the boxes.

Inside were compacted exoskeletons, each with Kanto Army's insignia on the left shoulders. The exoskeletons came in different sizes and in large quantities, surprising them that the boxes were able to hold them all. Then again, the exoskeletons each composed of three pieces anyway. One: The piece that would be set behind someone's spine and back. Two: The arm and hand pieces. And finally, the legs and feet pieces.

Vargulf smirked as he grabbed one, unfolding it and brandishing it to the group. He then put it on, pressing a few buttons on a screen on his arm and inputting the settings for the exoskeleton.

"These babies are going to be really helpful." Vargulf commented as he went invisible, surprising them.

They tried to look for him only to spot him behind Grace, the Ninetales jumping in surprise and batting her lover on the nose with her hand. Vargulf chuckled and scratched his head, smiling and nodding.

"These can make you go invisible for stealthy situations. They also amplify your strength and speed, allowing for actions like jumping three stories high or kicking a car off the road." Grace explain as Vargulf demonstrated each function, running as a blur, jumping over a tree, and punching a boulder which shattered upon impact.

Rick whistled, impressed, and Vulcan chuckled with a shake of the head. The Fenrir walked over to Vargulf, inspecting the exoskeleton.

"The Pack members that will be fighting in their anthromorphic or human forms can use these. This will help us out tremendously." Vulcan remarked, earning nods from the rest of them.

Vulcan then stood up, stretching then looked at the horizon with a distant look. The others wondered what was he thinking and worried, but they knew he was fine. Vulcan then shook his head and turned to them with a confident expression. He clasped his hands together and rubbed them, smirking with his fangs glinting in the light.

"It won't be long now. We're almost ready." he told them, earning determined looks from his friends and family.

 _ **"I could have screamed but I didn't. I could have fought but I didn't. I just lay there and let it happen, watching the winter-white sky go gray above me...**_

 _ **The wolf prodded his nose into my hand and against my cheek, casting a shadow along my face. His white eyes looked into mine as the shadows moved this way and that. I held onto those eyes for as long as I could. White. And, up close, flecked brillantly with black as a background. I didn't want him to look away, and he didn't. I wanted to reach out and grab a hold of his ruff, but my hands stayed curled to my chest, my arms frozen to my body. I couldn't remember what it felt like to be warm.**_

 _ **Then he was gone, without him, the shadows closed in, too close, sufficating. Something seemed too flutter in my chest. There was no sun; there was no light. I was dying. I couldn't remember what the sky looked like. But I didn't die, I was lost in a sea of cold, and then I was reborn into a sea of warmth. I remember this: his white eyes. I thought I would never see them again."**_


	23. Chapter 7 (DR)

**Yeah, multiple chapters today.**

 _ **"As they ran through the forest with the moon high in the sky, they became closer and closer to their goal. With each step, another obstacle is overcome. With every breath of fatigue, a breath of relief is released. Their goal was simple: get to their Alpha. Without their Alpha, they felt weak. Without their Alpha, they experience confusion. Without their Alpha, order was no such thing.**_

 _ **They made it through the forest, stopping to give themselves a break. However, another challenge lies ahead of them. A large mountain, the sun shining above the summit, blocks their way. In order to reach their Alpha, they must climb the mountain. They must conquer it. Unfortunately, there are dangers within.**_

 _ **The mountain isn't their only danger. Around it, scattered predators litter the area around the base. This doesn't deter them, but rather ignites their passion for battle, for their Alpha..."**_

 **Chapter 7: Raid on the Beacon**

 **One month later...**

Aurora dodged an incoming claw swipe from the Destroyer in front of her, the giant being as tall as her in her **Battle Form.** However, as much as she wanted to use that form, she didn't want to expend that much energy and become weakened before the upcoming battle at the Beacon. Aurora then fired a **Hydropump** at the Destroyer, hitting her mark on its face. The Destroyer shook its head in annoyance, narrowing its eyes at her.

Aurora glared back at it, sizing it up again and reviewing the notes she made in her head. As mentioned before, it was as large as her in her **Battle Form.** Made of magically joined rock, the Destroyer had a humanoid shape. It had claws and a row of chipped teeth. There were slowing red gems in its head serving as its eyes and a flashing purple gem in its chest which pulsated like a heart.

Aurora bared her teeth as the Destroyer made its way towards her. All of a sudden, its head snapped back with force as a blast of Concurrence exploded in its face.

"You alright, Aurora?!" Rube shouted as he flew behind the giant and sent another blast of Concurrence to the back of its knees, making the Destroyer stumble.

 _Yeah! Thanks for the save!_ she told him as she flew up to the Destroyer and sent a **Hypothermic Ray** to one of its eyes, successfully destroying the red gem and causing an explosion of energy.

The Destroyer roared, making them wonder if it was actually a sentient being rather than being a puppet on strings. Suddenly, its remaining eye turned into a deep, menacing yellow and the purple crystal in its chest flashed brightly.

 _ **"You two fight well. However, don't think that its going to be this easy to foil my plans."**_ Malefor spoke through the Destroyer.

Rune growled at Malefor's presence and Aurora simply prepared herself for whatever tricks Malefor may have up his sleeve. The Destroyer, or Malefor, suddenly breathed a torrent of Convexity at them, the air around it became somewhat distorted as it made its way towards them. Aurora and Rune flew out of the way, the Convexity connected with the earth and tore into the crust with ease. Their enemy ceased the blast of Convexity, only to fire a beam of Pain attack then with the remaining eye gem.

"Incoming! Rune exclaimed as they maneuvered to evade the beam of Pain.

Malefor, however, kept up the attack and guided the beam to follow them. A few birds flew by though unfortunately, they were struck by the beam and fell to the ground, their bodies convulsing and twitching as their nerves were wrought with extreme pain. Rune noticed this and shook his head in pity, wishing that monstrosities such as the Destroyer didn't exist. He wished that everyone around him can live in peace, no fighting or violence whatsoever. However, he sighed with a defeated look, knowing that what he wanted was only wishful thinking as well as incredibly naive.

Rune then frowned, looking at the Destroyer as it made another lunge at Aurora who flew out of the way with ease. Behind it, a very large mountain, the tallest in the Realms, emitted a very sinister aura. Within it was the Well of Souls, a dark and unsettling place where Malefor's spirit resided. Also, the rest of the group was inside as well, fighting through the Well's defenses and preparing the Grand Light diamond. They didn't need to bring anyone else for they felt like they could do this on their own. The troops that were supposed to go instead stayed behind in Warfang in case they fail. The plan was for Aurora and Rune to fend off the Destroyer guarding the Well and buy time for those inside. The Grand Light diamond, along with numerous quantities of green gems, would be activated using a blast of Convexity from Spyro and Savron which would amplify the Grand Light diamond's Light. Once that happens, the result would be all of the remaining Destroyers which are still asleep, save for the one Rune and Aurora was battling, would crumble and be rendered obsolete...at least, that was the plan...

 **Inside the Well of Souls...**

"We need to hurry! We don't have that much time left before the rest of the Destroyers wake up!" Terrador shouted as they continued to scramble for green gems.

The terrain within the mountain was littered with gems, red, green, even blue gems which are Spirit gems that amplify a dragon's elemental ability for a short time. Another rare sight was the purple gems, fury gems. They allowed dragon's to quickly activated their Fury State, a devastating attack using their Element. There were piles and piles of gems everywhere, enough to make a few dragons rich. However, they needed a VERY large amount to activate the Grand Light diamond.

"How much more do we need? There's hella in the pile already!" Flame asked as he poured some more green gems into a large pile that was nearly as large as a Destroyer's leg.

"Just a little more! We can do this, guys!" Spyro shouted as he ran past Flame and dumped his collection of green gems.

Suddenly, a sinister air began to arise in their area. Everyone stopped what they were doing, wondering what could be possibly happening that moment. Purple and black tendrils began to rise from the ground, earning shocked and wary looks from the large group of dragons. As the tendrils collected around their deposited green gems, which were in front in a large green pool of Souls, the group backed away in apprehension.

"What the fuck is happening?" Cyrus exclaimed with confusion, basically shouting out all their thoughts in a simple sentence.

"How are we supposed to know? We're just as confused as you are!" Hope scolded, her brother inching himself away from her to avoid getting hit.

"Enough! This isn't the time to bicker!" Cyril told them as the mass of dark tendrils seemed to finally settle.

The tendrils then began to spiral upwards, twisting and such as they began to form a figure. With only the waist up being visible, the figure had purple scales and multiple golden horns. His eyes were a demonic yellow and his muzzle wrinkled in a sneer.

"Malefor, you bastard! Why can't you just stay out of our lives?!" Spyro snarled as he got in a defensive position in front of Cynder who slightly shivered at the sight of the Dark Master.

Malefor erupted in laughter, his extremely deep voice sounded and echoed throughout the room. His laughter actually caused the room to shake, his voice had a large amount of base in it and was laced with power. However, unknown to Malefor, the collected gems and the Grand Light diamond behind him began to roll towards the Well. The others looked passed Malefor with blank faces, watching the green gems and Grand Light diamond drop into the Well with an audible splash.

Malefor stopped laughing and his smile turned to that of a frown. His ear twitched at the sound which prompted him to turn around. When he did, he caught a glimpse of the last gem falling in with a glint. At that moment, a small ball of Light appeared in the center of the room. Everyone remained silent as it expanded and became a ring which pulsed with every second. The ring became large and eventually, with the sound of thunder, it expanded with great speed in the blink of an eye until it was out of their sight.

 **With Aurora and Rune..**

Aurora and Rune both attacked the Destroyer at the same time, successfully taking out its other eye at the same time. They noticed that Malefor's presence left the Destroyer some time ago. The Destroyer roared, taking a blind step towards them. Aurora and Rune tensed, preparing once more to attack the large golem

Suddenly, the two spotted a ring of Light expand from the mountain and watched with curiosity as it continued to do so. Once it reached the Destroyer, the Destroyer froze and groaned weakly. Starting from its feet, cracks began to form and a purple light can be seen within. The cracks grew and reached the Destroyer's knee, making both of them pop out and sending to Destroyer to the ground. This caused the cracks to spread faster and they eventually reached its arms which shattered in an instant. Finally, cracks formed on its faced and the Destroyer let out a weak groan before it consisted, sending shards of earth everywhere. All that remained was the purple crystal that was in its chest, the crystal cracked and the energy within bursted which caused the crystal to explode in a similar manner to the Destroyer.

Aurora and Rune looked at each other, both surprised that the plan was carried out so quickly. They took a few more looks at the mess and shook their heads, smiles forming on their faces.

"Let's go meet up with the others and tell them that they did a great job!" Rune exclaimed as he made a beeline for the Well of Souls.

Aurora immediately followed suit, wondering how did the others collect the green gems so quickly. She then thought back to one of the days of planning, remembering reading a tome on Destroyers.

 **(flashback)**

 _"To successfully activate the Grand Light diamond, one must gather a large amount of green gems. The quantity should equal the amount of-"_

 _ **"What are you reading?"**_ _Savron asked, making Aurora jump and drop the tome back onto the table._

 _He chuckled and gave her an apologetic look, Aurora smiling and waving it off. She then frowned as she picked up the book, having lost her page._

 _ **"I was reading on how to activate the Grand Light diamond we have in the Well of Souls."**_ _she answered as she tried to find her page, one out of a couple thousand pages to be exact._

 _Savron inwardly winced as he realized what he had caused her to do. However, he lit up with confidence when he finally registered what she had told him._

 _ **"Oh, you mean for the Destroyers? That's easy!"**_ _he told her as she gave him a surprised look to which he nodded._

 _He grabbed the tome from her and placed it back on the shelf, one of many that were in the large library of the Temple. Savron then gave Aurora a smirk as well as a nod._

 _ **"I remember reading that part a while back. We're supposed to gather an amount equivalent to a Destroyer's waist. Only then would the Grand Light gem and the green gems would activate. See? I'm not a screw-up."**_ _He told her with a triumphant laugh._

 _Aurora laughed and shook her head, moving her hair out of the way of her vision. She then patted Savron's back and gave him a reassuring look._

 _ **"Never said you were."**_ _she responded as the two began to walk back airborne library, Volteer waving at them as they passed by._

 _They reached the Guardian's chamber and found Spyro and Cynder within, ignoring Terrador who was rolling around on the ground with his back set ablaze. Behind him, Inferna stood with an angry though smug look. She and Spyro then noticed Aurora and Savron walking in and smiled._

 _ **"I take it that you figured out what we need?"**_ _Spyro asked as he spat a small volley of water at Terrador, putting out the fire on the now relieved Earth guardian._

 _ **"All we need to do now is to prepare for the trip to the Well of Souls. From there, it should be smooth sailing."**_ _Savron told them as Aurora nodded._

 **Back at the library...**

 _A curious young drake picked up the tome that Aurora was reading, wondering why someone would want to read such a big book. He opened it and flipped through the pages, finding the tome to be boring except for the descriptions and images within._

 _ **"Hmm..Not bad. Not bad."**_ _the drake muttered to himself before flipping to another random page._

 _He saw an image of a Destroyer and whistled at the sight. He then noticed the passage beneath it and narrowed his eyes as he began reading._

 _ **"'-should equal the amount of a single Destroyer's foot. From there, one must deposit the collected gems and Grand Light diamond into the Well..'..Bah! What is this crap? What a bunch of nonsense."**_ _the drake said aloud as he cringed when a librarian gestured for him to be quiet._

 _The drake nodded apologetically and set the tome back onto the shelf, leaving the area to find something to entertain him._

 **(flashback end)**

 _I guess they gathered enough._ Aurora thought with a shrug as she and Rune turned into the room.

The two then froze as they spotted Malefor who was shaking with anger and disbelief. They also noticed the rest of the group had hidden expressions of amusement on their faces, making Aurora question why. She then dismissed the thought as Cyrus sent her a memory of what happened.

 _...It worked out though._ she thought as Malefor suddenly roared in fury.

 **"Enough! I'm through with all of you! You are all just a handful of nuisances and I don't even know why I'm putting up with this. That's it! No more playing games!"** Malefor shouted as he extended his hands.

The group found themselves levitating into the air, a dark aura surrounded them as Malefor's eyes glowed purple. He then gestured with his hands, making them closer together and moving them above the center of the room.

 **"You may have thwarted me this time. However, I'm patient. I can wait again and make more Destroyers. Until then, begone and never come back by my saved up power."** Malefor told them darkly as he waved his hands in a dismissive motion.

The group suddenly disappeared in a purple flashed, Malefor chuckling with satisfaction. He froze, then shaking his head with a smirk as he started to dissipate in wispy tendrils.

 _ **I may have sent them to that place but I highly doubt that he will escape that fortress and help them.**_ Malefor thought to himself, playing with one of the tendrils of darkness.

He made it into a figure of a human man, the features somewhat lazily made. Malefor chuckled in amusement as he finished up on the small figuring, making one last touch which was a scar that ran along the left side on the man's face.

 _ **Highly doubt it.**_ Malefor reiterated to himself before finally disappearing, the figuring falling to the floor and disappeared as well.

 **With the group...**

"Ugh, where are we?" Gray asked but froze soon afterward.

The dragons looked at him with curious expressions, finding Aniu to be acting the same way. They looked at Aurora for an explanation but she simply gave them a smile. She gestured around her with a wing, motioning to all of their surroundings.

 _This is our home._ she told them, receiving surprised looks from the elemental dragons.

"We need to get back! The Realms are in peril if we're not there to fight Malefor!" Hope announced though was quickly hushed by Cynder who rested a paw on her shoulder.

"We don't need to worry. I planned for emergencies like this and right now, there are Guardians at the Temple that I personally handpicked. They'll protect Warfang while we're gone. Also, Elenar is to take charge since we won't return for a while. As for the Realms being in danger, I don't think that will be something to worry about." she explained.

"What do you mean by that?" Voltlyn asked only to get nudged by Lyrith who smiled with a small laugh.

"Poor Mally is going to have to labor for a while to rebuild his Destroyers which will require a lot of energy. Plus, he told us that he was saving up his power before he warped us here. If I'm right, he doesn't have much power right now, not enough to build Destroyers or to even corrupt or terrorize people with his influence." he answered for them.

They all nodded with understanding though some laugh at Lyrith's nickname for Malefor. Spyro then took a step forward and stretched, his somewhat carefree attitude returning since their departure from danger.

"I assume it'll take about a couple of years for Malefor to regain his lost energy, plenty of time to help Aurora since we're already here. Plus, if we end up finishing early, we can just relax a little until we go back." he said with a yawn, Cynder shaking her head with a smirk as she noted his laidback behavior towards the situation.

They murmured in agreement and all looked at Aurora and the two wolves of Light for instruction. Aurora simply smiled and walked towards the direction of the Pack den, gesturing for them to follow.

 _We'll make sure you guys will get a good rest and get a great place to stay until you go back...You guys WILL make it through the battle and go back home, I promise._ Aurora told them as she gave them a glance.

They smiled at her and Rune walked up beside her.

"I know we will. Besides, we're friends, we help each other. Whether it be something as small as helping you with making a model or something as huge as this next battle. We don't care, Aurora, we'll help you rescue your partner. No questions asked." Rune told her, obviously speaking for the rest of them.

Aurora gave them a smile though they noticed a tear began to form in one of her eyes. However, she turned around before they could say anything and continued to walk.

Aurora stopped some distance away from the Pack den and Aniu walked passed her, the she-wolf alpha nodding in understanding. Aniu took the lead and led them to the outer edge of the den where scouts ran up to her in excitement.

 _It's great that you're back, Mistress! We all missed you greatly!_ one of them praised.

Aniu smiled and nodded, telling the scouts a few things before glancing at the rest of the group and nodding. They once more followed her and she led them deeper into the den. As they walked, they earned multiple looks of shock and surprise and even awe. Aniu continued to walk despite the questioning looks she received from her family.

They continued to follow her to a large field where sounds of multiple persons exercising can be heard.

 _Fang! We've returned!_ Aniu shouted, gaining the attention of the suppressed crimson Fenrir.

They all looked in the direction Aniu was facing, seeing the family as well as some members of the Pack sparring against each other. They were all practicing hand to hand combat, all of them extremely proficient in it. The scent of sweat filled the air, making some of the arriving group wrinkle their noses in recoil.

At the sound of Aniu's voice, the sparring group stopped and looked at the new arrivals with shock and curiosity.

"Aniu! Grey and Aurora! It's great to see you guys again!" Vulcan exclaimed as he ran up to them, his shirt clung to his skin and was slightly covered with sweat.

Aniu smiled as he hugged her, returning the hug with a chuckle. Vulcan then proceeded to do the same to Aurora and Grey though Grey slightly tensed at the action, but Vulcan didn't notice it at all. Vulcan then noticed the large group of dragons behind them, smiling and waving at them. The dragons looked at Vulcan with wonder, finding him extremely friendly and likable. They also noticed Balto who walked up next to Vulcan. The wolf waved a paw at them with a friendly grin, his teeth glinting as the sun shifted positions. The dragons found that the two had similar personalities and such.

 _Heya, all of you! Just the fact that you're all here means that my brother, sister, and mother succeeded in helping you. Just so you know, we are all very thankful and grateful that you agreed to help us._ Balto told the group of elemental dragons, Vulcan nodding in agreement.

Instantly, just by those two alone, the dragons felt welcomed and they all already felt comfortable with those around them. Aurora grinned and transformed into her human form, earning looks of surprise from the dragons as they had only seen her other form, her anthromorphic one.

"Alright," Aurora said as she took a deep breath, "This is Spyro, Cynder, his mate, their son, Savron, Terrador, Cyril, Inferna, Volteer, Flame, his mate, Ember, Lyrith, his mate, Voltlyn, Rune, Cyrus, their sister, Hope, Nellie, Rune's mate, *inhale*, and Cyrus' mate, Tina." Aurora gasped as she smiled with laugh, gesturing to each of them as she spoke their names.

"Well then, looks like a party." Vulcan remarked with a chuckle, looking over them once more.

He then cleared his throat as everyone who was exercising gathered around him with smiles.

"As you all know by now, my name is Vulcan Fang. And they are Demon, Rashad, Aero, Violet, Scarlet,.. " he listed with amused look from Aurora.

After the introductions were finished, they decided to gather in the main cave which was surprisingly large enough for all of them to move around freely. The dragons were socialising with those of the Pack, quickly getting comfortable with their new friends and such. As they did this, Aurora went out for a run in the forest. She ran for a few miles, not a sign of fatigue apparent. Aurora enjoyed running, it was one of her hobbies.

 _Maybe I should take a dip in the lake after this... Or maybe look for a waterfall.. Either one I'm good with._ she thought to herself.

She then came to a stop, the clearing she was in was silent save for the nice breeze that carried a few leaves into the air. Aurora found that she liked this spot and smiled as she sat on her haunches. She took a view of everything around her, noting the various flowers and Monarch butterflies which she enjoyed watching with interest. Aurora then shook her head and turned serious, holding up her paw and counting the claws as she listed her thoughts.

 _Let's see, we have the equipment to take him on. We have the elemental dragons from the Realms, Rick's family, Ragna and them, Vargulf and Grace, Ally, Ultima, Murtagh and Thorn..._

She then had an idea, a smile forming on her muzzle and her eyes glinting as her thoughts finally formed.

 _I wonder if those two would like to help too.. It's been far too long since the last time I saw them._ she wondered as she slowly nodded her head.

She then turned serious once more as she looked up from her paw, seeing the dark figure that she was always training with. Since the day it first appeared, it appeared every day since then and trained with her. She didn't know why it does this but she knew that it had something to do with the upcoming battle at the Beacon.

Every training session was different, she had realized. They all focused on different kinds of combat. They already covered aerial, physical, long-range attacks, short-range attacks, psychical attacks, and then some. At one point, she questioned the figured why they were training. The figure didn't even answer her, but instead, pointed at her and nothing else. Aurora didn't know what it meant by pointing at her and figured it was just telling her to prepare herself. Though they frequently trained, Aurora didn't tell the others about it for fear of them getting worried about her. She thought that they might even go as far as attacking her sparring partner at first glance.

Aurora got up from her spot and got closer to the figure, stopping a few feet away from it. Aurora transformed into her anthromorphic form and gave it a curious expression.

"So you can come here too? Not just the Realms?" she asked it as she crossed her arms.

The figure nodded, though the action was barely noticeable as it only nodded with very little movement. Aurora then gave it another confused look as the figure pointed at her as it summoned its shadow weapon.

"What are we doing this time?" she asked but only received the same gesture.

Aurora narrowed her eyes as the figure gestured at her once more. This time, she noticed that after it pointed at her, it raised its hand and held up four fingers. It then held up two fingers from its other hand and put that hand above the other one. The figure then made a squeezing motion with his hands before repeating the entire gesture.

Aurora racked her brain, wondering what it was trying to tell her. She look at the way its hands were positioned and the amount of fingers it was holding up. Aurora then widened her eyes in understanding and gave a small clap, pointing at the figure's hands.

"You want to train me in my **Altered Form**." she asked it though it was more of a statement.

Aurora made the connection that the four fingers were her four legs and the other two fingers were her wings. The squeezing motion meant that she was to take a "conpressed" or smaller form of a kind. She then noticed that her thought processing was faster, wondering if it had to do with the mental training she had with the figure in front of her.

The dark figure lowered its hands and nodded, taking a few steps back and raising its weapon. As it did this, Aurora transformed into her **Altered Form** and stretched. She and the figure then circled each other like predators and their quarries.

 _Of course. We already trained me in my bipedal forms and the only thing we haven't covered yet is training in my quadrapedal forms._ Aurora realized with a small smirk.

 **With Ragna at Mount Moon...**

The ground shook and crashing sounds can be heard every few seconds. The noise echoed throughout the many caves in the mountain though with the numerous tunnels that Mount Moon had, each with its own little maze, it was extremely doubtful that any humans that wanted to investigate this would never find the source. Actually, it was impossible for anyone to find the source of the noise for it came from the center within the mountain which didn't have any path that would make it accessible.

Ragna grunted as he shoved another wall of rock, turning it into rubble and then clearing it off debris with his tail. Ragna then blasted the ceiling in an controlled explosive ball of Light, revealing more of Mount Moon's summit from underneath. Ragna was doing this for a few hours now, his determination rivaled by nothing else but by his love for his family.

 _This should do for the day. Besides, when we rescue Ryker, I'm sure he would like to do the rest himself._ Ragna thought with a chuckle.

At that moment, a bright flash of light radiated to his left and revealed Jeanne with an amused expression on her face. Ragna bowed respectfully before giving her a toothy smile.

 _All of this to further increase her already smothering happiness and love for him._ Jeanne remarked, Ragna chuckling in response.

 _Yep. It's about halfway done and shouldn't take very long when he takes over. I'm just surprised that this area hasn't caved in yet._ Ragna commented with a gesture.

 _I'm responsible for that. In addition to giving the pokémon that uses to inhabit this area as well as some of the normal animals new homes, I placed a forever lasting ward here that would prevent from this area from caving in. Plus, any uninvited visitors that come within the set distance of this place will be warped to an area away from her across from the direction their facing so that they can continue without noticing this area. All as Fang planned._ Jeanne explained, brushing a rock off the pathway which was evened out by Ragna who used fire and pressure to do so.

Ragna nodded as he heard her explanation and yawned, taking a look around him. So far, the very center of the mountain, including the base, was almost completely hollowed out. From where he was standing, which was a pathway leading from the entrance, one would see a very large circular path which was about a third of a mile in circumference. The pathway was only a few meters in width and only allowed for a few, about Ragna's size, to stand side by side. As mentioned before, the pathway lead from the hidden entrance to the center of the mountain where it became circular. Within the circle pathway, a very large pit took up the space. Leading to the center above the pit was another path that lead from the circular pathway. The path lead to a large platform that took up about half the space of the pit though if one wanted to get there, one would have to walk across the path which acted like a bridge to the platform. One can imagine a castle with a moat around it. However, there would be no castle but the ground underneath it and there would be no water in the moat either.

 _What's Ryker planning to do once this is finished? I don't see what there is to do with all of this._ Ragna questioned, warning an amused smile from Jeanne.

Jeanne noticed that the Drakengard was talking as if he knows they're going to succeed in rescuing The Alpha. Knowing this, she was confident that they will do so. She then shook her head in response to Ragna's question.

 _I have no idea what Fang plans to do here. Though I'm sure it will be a surprise for all of us. Think about it, when has he ever disappointed us? Never. If he wants this area to be hollowed out then so be it. Again, I'm not sure if it's beneficial to all of us but despite of that, I'm sure he has a good reason for this. Who knows? Maybe this is supposed to be a gift of some kind though I admit, I wonder what would it be if it was. Besides, he helped me with many of my problems and completed many quests over the years as well as doing many favors for me. This is small compared to his contributions._ the Arceus answered.

Ragna looked at her with shock, arching an eyeridge at her as well. Ryker didn't tell her why this was all for either? What could the Fenrir possibly be planning that would require for some space within the mountain to be hollowed out? Ragna then took a deep breath and shrugged, giving Jeanne a another smile.

 _All I know is that he's going to have a lot to answer for when we get him back._ Ragna stated with a laugh.

Jeanne allowed a small laugh as well, shaking her head in amusement of the situation. She then felt a friendly nudge from Ragna who looked confused again.

 _Where did you move the inhabitants?_ he asked.

 _I moved them to wherever they liked. They weren't happy that they had to leave this place but once I told them that they could live wherever they want, as long as it's reasonable, they instantly had a change of mood. Some of them, like the colony of Zubats or the normal bats moved to Kalos or another region. Others, like the Clefairy evolutionary line moved to places not far from here like Mount Silver. Though remember, not all of those who live here in Mount Moon had to move. Only those who lived in this area right here had to, which is only about a fifth or so of the population._

 _Hm... Well what about these? I kept some of them but for the rest, I have no use for them,_ Ragna stated as he showed her a large bag, _There's quite a lot of these actually. In fact, there's so much that I wonder how much there are in the rest of the mountain._

Jeanne took a look as Ragna opened the bag. Inside was a very large quantity of evolution stones and items for pokémon trainers like repels, potions, and the like. In all, there was about a hundred and fifty pounds of things inside. The Drakengard gathered them as he hollowed out the area. Jeanne honestly didn't expect that there were this many finds in Mount Moon but then again, she didn't leave The Hall of Origins except for important business.

 _You should bring it back to the others and see if they need or want any. If there's still a lot left over, you can anonymously donate it or even sell it._ Jeanne answered.

 _Should I tell the others where I found all of these things?_

 _I don't see why not. Just don't mention the fact that you hollowed out this area and the fact that Fang is going to finish up when he comes back._

 _Alright then. Sounds good to me._ Ragna stated as he put the bag in his dimensional storage.

 **Back at the Pack den...**

"There's so many!" Ally exclaimed as they all looked at Ragna's find.

"Grab as many as you like though be reasonable about it, there's others who would like some too." Ragna, now in his human form, announced.

In the span of ten minutes, there was many things taken from the bag. Most of them were the evolution stones but others grabbed the trainer items as well. After they were done, Ragna found that there was still more than half of the things he originally had in the bag.

"if there's no one else who wants any, I'll go and donate this." Ragna announced, scanning everyone there to see if anyone was left out.

At that moment, Rick walked into view and widened his eyes at the sight of Ragna's gatherings.

"Do you have any Dawn Stones?" Rick asked before he spotted one in the bag.

Ragna smiled, knowing exactly what Rick intended to do with the Dawn Stones. Fortunately, Moon Stones and Dawn Stones made up the majority of the evolution stones Ragna found and no one seems to want them.

"Go right on ahead. Grab as many as you need for Sanctuary. " Ragna replied with a chuckle.

Rick smiled widely and gathered as much Dawn Stones as he can find. He ended up with a few short of a hundred and thanked Ragna over and over for his generosity to which Ragna responded with a wave of the hand.

"My people will be extremely grateful to you for this." Rick remarked as he teleported the Dawn Stones to the Mercury which was nearby under camouflage.

"No, it's all good. I don't have any use for them and besides, there's still a lot left in this bag so don't worry about it." Ragna replied with a smile.

Everyone thanked Ragna though Aero got curious and voiced his thoughts.

 _Where did you even get all of these?_ he asked, everyone who head redirected their attention back to Ragna.

Ragna nervously scratched the back of his head and gave them a small smile, hoping they wouldn't notice his anxiety. Saphira, Rick, Alara, Maiyu, and Sheerah, however, weren't fooled.

"I found these as I was walking around in Mount Moon. I figured that I might as well grab as many as I come by since I was there." he answered truthfully, not wanting to lie.

Those who noticed his nervousness knew he was telling the truth but believed he was hiding something. However, they dismissed it as nothing serious and everyone else nodded in understanding. Unfortunately for Ragna, Sheerah was a Kirlia and she didn't have that much control over her psychic abilities.

"What are you so ner-?" she began to ask but Ragna quickly picked her up and threw her in the air.

"Who wants to play airplane?" he playfully asked with a slightly nervous tone.

Sheerah giggled and instantly forgot about her question. Instead, she simply enjoyed her playtime as Ragna threw and caught her every few seconds of their game.

"Wheeeeee!" Sheerah exclaimed as she "soared" through the air in Ragna's arms.

At this point, more of them looked at Ragna as they noticed his anxiety. Cyrus noticed this though he didn't really care at all, focusing more on the Fire Stone Ragna gave him. He exhaled, a large plume of flame escaped his maw though with more ferocity than he intended. Rune noticed this and nudged Cyrus, seeing what was the deal.

"These stones amplify their elements! Try that Thunder Stone!" he suggested with wonder.

Rune picked up the Thunder Stone he acquired from Ragna and shot Lightning from his nostrils, the result was blue arcs of electricity that remained suspended in their air for a few moments even after he stopped discharging it.

"Nice!" Rune remarked as he got up to try other stones and their effects.

The other dragons noticed the spectacle and immediately began experimenting as well, dumbfounded by the results. In a way, the evolution stones were like the Spirit Gems back in the Realms. Though apparently, the evolution stones were a lot more common than Spirit Gems. This also drew curiosity from Vargulf and Grace, the two of them having the same thoughts as the elemental fireworks went off. To them, there were only certain items that amplify attacks of their Type. For example, a charcoal would amplify Fire Type attacks. This led the two ex-Special Forces to wonder what would happen if those types of items were to be used by the dragons. The same effect maybe?

Conveniently, Grace had a charcoal stick with her and pulled it out of one of her pockets. She handed it to Cyrus who held it with confusion.

"Try breathing fire now." she suggested with a hint of curiosity.

Cyrus nodded and took a deep breath before exhaling, the result was a large plume of blue flames, his standard fire color being red. Cyrus was even more excited at that moment, secretly hoping Grace would let him keep the charcoal. Though, in reality, it would be easy to find another one simply by burning a piece of coal at a barbecue or something the like. Cyrus then wondered what would happen if he were to breathe fire with both the stone and charcoal in possession though he shook his head at the thought.

 _What am I going to do? Carry both things with me wherever I go? Nah._

Grace smiled in amusement, she caught his earlier stray thought about the charcoal.

"Go ahead, I don't mind. I can always get another one whenever I feel like it." she told him, surprising the Dark dragon prince.

"Really?" he asked, not at all angry that she read his thoughts, "Thanks a bunch!"

Grace only smiled in response before walking away, she intended on getting to sleep. Vargulf noticed her walking away and followed her, surprising her by suddenly carrying her bridal style to the cave. They laughed lightly before nuzzling each other as they entered the cave.

 **In the clearing some miles away...**

Aurora gritted her teeth as she ducked as the dark figure sailed over, its flying kick attack missing. As it landed, Aurora quickly turned around and tried to take a swipe at it. However, her attack landed short as it caught her paw and pulled her overhead, lifting her like she didn't way a single ounce. They disconnected and Aurora twisted in midair before landing, firing a beam of dry ice at the figure.

Her sparring partner simply leaned back, the beam of dry ice passing by harmlessly and freezing the tree behind it. When it returned to its normal stance, Aurora was already in front of it and tackled its stomach, sending it a few feet back. It was at times such as this one when Aurora began to think like a detective. Whenever she made physical contact with it, every time she would feel nothing. There was no warmth, no cold, nothing that the figure gave off. She didn't even feel the armor it wore, only the sound of metal against metal could be heard as it moved. It was almost as if she was fighting with a ghost that would react correspondingly to her attacks.

The figure recovered from her last attack and nodded approvingly, earning a relaxed sigh from Aurora. However, the relaxed sigh turned into a gasp of surprise as she dodged another kick from the figure. She took a few steps back, preparing for its attacks. Normally, their training session would end after it nods at her successful attacks. Then, it would up and leave without a trace until the next day where it would train her in a clearing. It became a routine, the only days when it didn't happen was when Aurora and the dragons left to neutralize the Destroyers. Also, it wouldn't appear on days where she was already exhausted by afternoon and whenever she was too busy to leave and find a clearing.

Now this time was different, it didn't leave after approval. Instead, it was still charging at her as if it was not enough. However, Aurora didn't mind. She wanted to get stronger, faster, more cunning, anything that will help her get closer to her goal.

 _It's all for Ryker._ she thought as she leapt at the dark figure.

It jumped back to avoid her attack and swung its weapon, the act too fast for her to do anything about it. However, in that split second, Aurora thought that she didn't have to worry. As she thought, the figure stopped its weapon just an inch short from one of her legs. Aurora frowned and took a few steps back, knowing what was to come. The figure took its weapon and got in an offensive stance, the air around them became still. Aurora inwardly winced as she dodged the figure's next attack, mentally berating herself for going through with a reckless move.

That was another thing. Whenever _she_ gets hit, the figure would attack her with more ferocity. She would have to hit it twice before their session ends. Aurora gritted her teeth, wondering what she would have to do to end the session. She then shook her head with a disappointed expression.

 _If I thought before I acted, it wouldn't have hit me and I wouldn't have to worry about this right now._ she seethed.

At that moment, she blinked as the figure suddenly snapped its fingers, snapping her out of her distracting thoughts. It then pointed to its head then to the ground before him, gesturing to its weapon and Aurora as well.

 _Right. Focus on the training session._ Aurora thought to herself before nodding to the figure.

The figure then waved its weapon at her, four lines appeared around her which formed a small square. Aurora nodded at the figure with understanding, knowing that she had to focus on her dodging now. For the past hour, they were working on basic combat. Now, all she had to do is to dodge. However, she had to do so without leaving the square which only gave her enough room to take a step in each direction.

The figure disappeared and from the opposite direction, a ball of shadow was fired at her. Aurora turned her neck around and widened her eyes before lifting one of her legs, the ball of shadows barely missing her. Another was fired from to her left, making her jump to dodge it. Another came from behind her once more and she ducked. However, one was fired from ahead of her and she didn't have time to react. Before it made contact, the attack dissipated and Aurora hung her head in defeat.

 _It just got harder.. again.._ she thought with frustration.

The figure appeared in front of her and crossed its arms, earning a stomp to the ground from Aurora.

 _How am I supposed to done your attacks? They either come too fast or the angle they come from are nearly impossible!_ she asked it, wondering if it even heard her since this is the first time she tried contacting it mentally.

The figure pointed at sections of its body then at her, exaggerating its breathing motion. Aurora looked at the figure then back at herself, making the connections quite quickly now.

 _Calm down and relax?_ she asked it, receiving an extra gesture that pointed at her arms and legs.

Aurora noticed that it was pinching its arms as well and did a ping motion. Realization finally dawned on her.

 _Calm down and relax my muscles?_ she tried, earning a nod from her sparring partner.

It then pointed to the square she was in and made a outwards motion with its hands and then pointed to her head.

 _Think outside the box?_

The figure nodded once more, then pointed to her head once more. The figure then pointed to her head, nose, eyes, and chest, then made a connecting motion with its hands. The only response she got from Aurora was a confused expression. Aurora had absolutely no idea it was trying to tell her this time. The figure then cupped its chin, as if amused. Then, it pointed to her ears, eyes, nose, muzzle, and poked her.

 _... The senses?_ she guessed.

The figure held up a finger and waved its hand as if saying "Go on." Aurora frowned and looked at it as she cooked her head at an angle. Once more, the figure repeated its actions and then pointed to the area around her. It pointed at the tree, grass, it pointed at the squirrels too. However she noticed that it repeatedly pointed at the squirrels before repeating the gestures to her body again.

 _Senses and... nature?... Wait! Instinct? Use my instincts?_ she asked it, receiving a nod from the figure.

Aurora nodded and relaxed her body, though kept her knees bent so that she could move fluidly. The figure disappeared again though this time, Aurora closed her eyes.

 _Use your instincts. Use your instincts. Come on, you use it everyday. Use it._ she repeated like a mantra.

She waited and waited, her body went still. She ignored the sound of the leaves rustling in the wind. She ignored the sound of the wind itself, even the small chit-chattering of the squirrels. In the next moment, everything was silent. Aurora waited and waited. For a moment, nothing happened and all was calm.

In the next, Aurora ducked as a ball of shadow came from behind. She then jumped as one came from the opposite direction. Aurora then began to sidestep as two balls of shadow came at her from adjacent directions. When she returned to her normal stance, she felt a small burst of energy and opened her eyes to see a dissipating ball of shadow to her right.

The figure appeared before her once more and made a pinching gesture with its fingers.

 _Close? I nearly got it?_ she asked.

The figure nodded and disappeared once more. This time, Aurora told herself not to fail and not only prepared herself like the last round, but also kept all of her senses active instead of her hearing. Her eyes twitched at every sound and her eyes darted to every single movement in the area. She felt the grass underneath her and her mind scanned the area as well. All of a sudden, the first attack came from her left. Aurora quickly ducked and it passed by harmlessly. Not even a second later, two came from opposite directions. Aurora jumped and flipped in midair before landing to dodge the two but the moment she landed, another was fired from behind. She simply leaned forward and the ball of shadow missed her by inches. Aurora then moved her head back as a ball came from above her from an angle, narrowly missing her.

She kept this up for a good hour or so, finally getting the hang of it. By that time, she was near overheating and her muscles screamed for her to stop. Even breathing was getting difficult for her to do. Aurora winced as she moved a wing to dodge another ball of shadow though the act caused a strain in her wing muscles. She began to pant heavily, her tongue sticking out to help cool her off. She then exhaled deeply, cooling her body with a breath of liquid nitrogen. As she did this, she narrowly avoids a ball of shadow that came for her face and she was only able to do so because she saw a shift in the cloud of the liquid nitrogen. Aurora then flapped a wing, clearing the cooling cloud any. Underneath her, the grass was frozen solid though they cracked and shattered, the shards carried away by the wind. Aurora shook her head and focused, her instincts taking over again.

However, the figure appeared in front of her and held up a hand in a halting gesture. Aurora cooked her head at an angle then sighed in relief as the figure gave a nod of approval though it didn't attack this time. Instead, it waved its hand and the four lines around Aurora vanished, meaning that she could move more freely now. Aurora stretched and winced as she felt strains all over her body. She then sat on her haunches and waited for the figure to instruct her as it had been for a while.

 _What now?_ she asked.

The figure simply pointed to her eyes and then to the setting sun. Aurora frowned before connecting the dots in her head.

 _You want me to rest?_ she asked, unsure of her answer.

To her surprise, the figure nodded and pointed to a direction behind it. Aurora craned her neck and focused to hear the sounds of crashing water. She figured it was a waterfall and understood that her sparring partner wanted to let her know that she could take a swim in the waterfall before resting. Aurora nodded her head to it, the figure nodding as well. It then did another thing she didn't expect.

It gave her a thumbs-up.

Aurora could only stare at it flabbergasted as it waved its hand before disappearing. She sat there for another few moments before finally snapping put of it and heading towards the aforementioned waterfall. Along the way, she did a quick mental summary of her training session and nodded, taking notes on the things she needed to improve on as well as the things she had to ease up a little. She then reached the waterfall, sighing as she dove inside and sank to the floor. She lay on her stomach and stretched once more, the cooking water relaxed the tension in her muscles and then some. Aurora sighed, a flurry of bubbles escaped her maw and rose to the surface. She was also bored now, having nothing to do for the rest of the day.

She began to sweep the floor underneath her with her four tails. The area around her ice tails emitted a small frost though she willed herself not to freeze the water. She then began to lazily trace her claw on the ground, imagining herself to be an artist that drew wonderful paintings and the like. Truthfully, she wished she could draw well. Sadly, she just couldn't get the hang of it at all. Whenever she tried to sketch, the images would become disproportional and would be either too big or too miniscule than it should be. She would try to erase it only to fail since she sketched too darkly. Then again, she didn't mind any of that. The act of trying was actually fun to her. However, there was one thing she did not like at all.

She hated coloring.

Aurora hated how sometimes, coloring would ruin the drawing by making it look less realistic or sloppy if she accidentally colored out of the lines. She also hated it whenever the color she was aiming for was not the same as the one she picked and already colored. Another thing, she didn't have the patience to color in the whites whenever she colored. Crayons were the worst to her so she had used color pencils and markers. Eventually though, she got tired of coloring and all of her pictures were developed in monochrome. All she would do was shade the images but that's all.

 _Hate coloring._ she thought with spite.

After she finished her bathing, she went back to the Pack den and saw everyone fiddling with their trinkets. She looked over at Ragna who offered her seem from his bag but she waved a paw, telling him she didn't want any. Ragna simply shrugged and began to play with Sheerah again. Aurora went I side the main cave, finding the spot where she always slept. She lay in the back of cave, her form hidden due to the dark. She took a deep breath and her nerves were instantly calmed. The spot she was residing at had traces of Ryker's scent, though she amused herself at the thought of him starting forest fires and such. She shook her head, remembering that he told her that he did not burn forests for fun, it is just his natural scent.

Aurora became alerted as the sounds of pawsteps sounded, she turned her head to see Rasha who have her a concerned look.

 _Where were you all day?_ she asked, laying down next to Aurora who gave the former a smile.

 _"All day"? I was only here for a few hours._ she replied with a laugh though earned a knowing look from her sister.

 _*sigh* Fine, I was out training and I just got finished with it about an hour or so back. Then, I came back here to rest._

 _Training for like, three-four hours, Aurora._

 _Well, I did take a swim in a nearby waterfall before coming back here._

Rasha sighed and nudged Aurora, she smiled though Aurora could tell there was a hint of sadness behind the windows to Rasha's soul.

 _I'm sorry. I'm just worried since you just came back from another quest and though we're one step closer to freeing Ry, I can tell that you're still hurting. We all are... But I'm sure you're taking it a lot harder than we are. But don't worry, we're going to get him back, okay?_ Rasha told her in a motherly tone.

Of course, Aurora knew all of that already. Also, she did notice with amusement Rasha's tone of voice. However, she didn't voice her thoughts. After dismissing the thought, Aurora smiled at Rasha and nodded confidently, resting her paw on the blue-eyed wolf's back.

 _I know and you don't have to worry about me. I'm fine, it's just that I'm a little nervous about the upcoming battle._

Rasha nodded and looked out the entrance of the cave, seeing her children, now close to being adults, mingling with the dragons. She smiled and shook her head, looking back at Aurora.

 _That I get, my kids want to join the fight too. Gray and I tried to convince them otherwise but they wouldn't have it. "For Uncle Alpha" was their reason. *chuckle* We couldn't deny them so since then, we trained them and believe me, they have become quite the fighters. Almost to the point where I doubt they'll fall in battle, a few scratches and bruises at most maybe. You see, Gray was taught by my dad how to fight in his bipedal forms. But, Dad was taught by Ryker how to fight. Now you can see why I'm not worried...as much. I'm still going to watch over them during the battle. At least Aleu is staying behind though._ Rasha replied.

 _I would too if I was a mom. No matter what the situation, the slightest hint of danger will mean for me to micromanage their lives._ Aurora responded, the two of them breaking out in laughter.

Aurora then began to plan out the battle within her mind, having already seen the layout of The Beacon and the inside structure. Rasha noticed with worry that Aurora was frowning as she thought to herself, her eyes darting in different directions and her facial expressions changing every so often.

 _Uh.. are you okay?_ Rasha asked with an arch of the eyeridge.

 **Aurora's mental plane...**

Aurora envisioned the landscape around the Beacon, a wide expanse of dry land though some plant life around the tower. There were rocks and boulders peppering the land like a victim of chickenpox. The battlefield was large enough for about a six-seven hundred warriors. The Beacon itself had balconies fitted with defenses, not to mention the Eye of Osiris which actually isn't much of a problem for them. Most of them were of Light and wouldn't get affected by it anyways. The only ones are were in danger was Rune, Cyrus, Demon, and Gray. Aurora thought that maybe they could hold up the rear, put of range of the Eye and they could also serve as tankers from behind, should the enemy decide to sneak up on them or flank them. As Aurora thought about certain areas, for possible ambush spots or something the like, the areas would be highlight as she focused on them.

 _Then there's the entrance..._ she thought, the large doorway to the Beacon became highlighted.

Around it were small dots, representing the guards and lookouts. There was also the bridge, the structure covered with even more enemies and different colored dots representing the ones who were more heavily armed than the others.

On the other side, green dots that represented her friends and allies appeared. Some of them were on the left, others were on the right, most were in the center with her included though her dot was blue. The green dots flashed as a series of red dots appeared in front of the Beacon's location.

 _They will be here and... Lygon loves to start the battle with a head-on charge so most of his soldiers would be here... possibly ambush them from this spot... Then, when the battle reaches the apex, I'll be.._

Her dot traveled across her mental map and went into the Beacon where it spiraled upwards through the stairs. The blue dot then stopped about halfway, a purple dot flashing beside it.

 _I'll free Nyx on the way and together, well go and..._

The two dots began climbing even higher and eventually stopped some ways underneath the Eye. A black dot flashed and Aurora nodded with determination.

 _We save Ryker._ she finished, feeling confident that they can, no, they _will_ win.

 _Aurora!_ Rasha shouted, making Aurora jump in surprise.

Aurora then looked at Rasha with a look of confusion, her expression though almost innocent as to why Rasha called out to her.

 _Yes?_ she asked, her heart rate returning back to normal.

 _Are. You. Okay?_ Rasha asked with exasperated tone.

 _I am! Just planning out the battle._ Aurora replied.

 _... I swear. You think almost like Ryker now. Next thing we know, you'll start to become anti-social._ Rasha said with a laugh.

Aurora giggled and laughed with her, shaking her head at the statement. She then turned serious and Rasha stopped laughing after noticing.

 _Two days. Two days from now, after everyone finished up their training and getting rest, I'll present our plan. If things go well, we'll be able to make it to the Beacon by the next day. Can you please spread the word for me?_ Aurora said with a serious tone.

Rasha nodded and got up, stretching her limbs and yawning before shaking her head to get rid of her fatigue.

 _Sure! I'll go do it right now._ she said with a peppy voice before running out the cave and leaving Aurora alone to think to herself.

The Islingr Suicune sighed and revised her plan, making small, intricate edits and such whenever a small flaw surfaced. Though, she had to admit, Rasha was right. Aurora was thinking like Ryker would before a battle. She chuckled to herself, being around Ryker seemed to cause her to be a lot more alert of her surroundings as well as causing her to think with a lot more depth before acting. She then lightly smacked herself on the head, remembering she was supposed to rest. Aurora sighed and closed her eyes, shutting out the world around her. Not even a few minutes later, she fell asleep with a content look upon her face.

 **Aurora's dreamscape...**

 _Aurora found herself outside her cave back at Cerulean Falls. She then looked at herself, surprised to see that she was in her human form. She didn't remember changing into it but then again, it was a dream and no one really remembers the first parts of them anyway. Aurora shrugged, figuring it was just that. Not only did she figured that out, she noticed that because she was conscious that she was dreaming, she must be lucid dreaming then._

 _Aurora walked to the cliff in front of her cave and hugged her silver dress to her legs as she sat down. It was nightfall out and the moon was high in the sky though its appearance was somewhat larger than normal. Yes, it was a full moon as well but the shine of white it gave off seemed strangely really brighter than normal. The light made the circlet on her head glint as well as her earrings that she got from Ryker back at Alagaësia. Her bracelets and anklets gave off a brilliant shine as well, though her necklace shined the brightest with hues of blue and white._

 _Wait a minute_

 _Aurora looked herself over once more. Why was she in a dress for? Why was her hair done and her nails polished blue? The comfortable silver heels she was wearing, the white sleeves of silk she wore on her arms, her face... no, there was nothing done to her face. Aurora shook her head with a laugh. She never wore makeup , no mascara, eyeliner, nothing at all to alter her face. She didn't bother. The way she saw it, why wear makeup to make yourself prettier? Wouldn't that tell others that you look ugly or average beneath the cosmetic alterations?_

 _Aurora smiled, remembering the day Ryker told her that she looked beautiful no matter what and if anything, makeup would hamper her beauty. At the memory, Aurora felt a strong warmth growing inside her. She hugged herself, enjoying the warm feeling and the sudden surge of happiness that welled up within her. Aurora then sighed, wishing Ryker was there to enjoy the view of the ocean beneath the moon with her._

 _ **"All you need to do is ask, you know?"**_ _a voice called out to her, Aurora suddenly sensing someone next to her._

 _She recognized the voice and jumped up at the remark. How couldn't she recognize it? Aurora, shaking, turned to see Ryker in formal attire. His hair was long, reaching slightly passed his shoulders though it was spiked. His hair covered both of his eyes partially though it didn't seem to bother him. He wore black dress pants with a belt complete with a dark gray collared shirt. Above the shirt, he wore the same blazer he wore the day he became a Legendary. His necklace stood out the most and rested on his chest though it shined darkly but brilliantly. He wasn't wearing any gloves but instead, he wore his chain bracelet on his left hand with his watch on the right._

 _Aurora didn't know how to respond. This time was different from her encounter with Malefor. She knew she was dreaming and that it was. A dream. At that moment, Ryker placed something in her hair and she looked up to see. It was the crystal rose he gave her when they went to Sinnoh. The act caused her to sigh, giving in to her dream._

 _ **Might as well enjoy it while it lasts.**_ _she thought with a smile._

 _ **"Aurora, my love, I really miss you. It lifts my heart to see you again, here with me."**_ _Ryker told her, his words had a tinge of sadness though it was mostly happy._

 _Aurora smiled and hugged him, hoping her dream will last for at least a while. She looked up at Ryker and kissed him, soon burying her face into the crook of his neck. She breathed in, taking in his scent._

 _ **"I missed you too, Ryker. These three long years were hard for me to go on happy without you... I'm actually sleeping in your usual spot in the cave in the den, I didn't think I could sleep without your scent with the upcoming battle and all."**_ _Aurora replied though was answered with a light chuckle._

 _ **"Let's not worry about that, dear. After all, that's why you went to sleep. To rest. To take your mind off things for a while."**_

 _Aurora giggled to herself, the act putting a smile on Ryker's face. Aurora continued to do so then eventually shaking her head before stopping._

 _ **Of course he knows. He's part of my mind and I'm dreaming. He could tell me my life story and I wouldn't be surprised.**_ _she thought._

 _Ryker chuckled, Aurora finding it weird since she didn't know what was funny. Was it her? Did she say something wrong? However, the thought was dismissed as Ryker took a step back, holding his hand out to her in an offering gesture._

 _ **"Would you like to dance with me?"**_ _he asked, slightly surprising Aurora._

 _Aurora nodded her head feverishly and took his hand, dusting off her dress before getting into position with him. Ryker held her hand with one of his own and his other hand rested on her hip, all the while Aurora was beaming like the sun. Or rather, in this case, the moon. That was when Ryker began to lead her and they dance finally begun._

 _ **"Lately I've been, I've been losing sleep-Dreaming about the things that we could be,"**_ _Ryker began which confused Aurora,_ _ **"But, baby I've been, I've been praying hard, said 'No more counting dollars, we'll be counting stars.' Yeah, we'll be counting stars."**_

 _Aurora widened her eyes as she finally recognized the words. It was the first few lyrics to the first song Ryker ever sang to her! Aurora couldn't believe what was happening. Flashes of her first date with him streamed across her eyes in seconds. Aurora recovered and noticed he was singing it slower than normal though every word was filled with loving._

 _ **"I see this life like a swinging vine, swing my heart across the line. In my face is flashing signs, seek it out and ye shall find."**_ _he continued as he made her twirl with fitness in each movement._ _ **"Old but I'm not that old, young but I'm not that bold.**_ _(Aurora shakes her head at this)_ _ **And I don't think the world is sold, I'm just doing what we're told."**_

 _Aurora laughed as he spun her around again, though this time he went under the gap she left under their arms. She then spun back into her original position and Ryker lightly pecked her on the cheek._

 _ **"An I, feel something so right by doing the wrong thing. An I, feel something so wrong by doing the right thing."**_

 _Ryker hugged her close and closed his eyes, Aurora resting her head on his chest as they stepped back and forth. Oh, how she wished this was actually happening. Though, the more she wished, the more she felt determined and confident about their upcoming battle._

 _ **"I could lie, couldn't I, couldn't I?"**_ _Aurora looked at him to see his eyes closed. He then suddenly opened them and stared at her, Aurora suddenly feeling lost in his eyes. "_ _ **Every thing that kills me makes me feel alive."**_

 _Ryker then snapped her out of it by letting go of her hip and taking a step back which caused Aurora to do a small spin as he led her. She then spun back into his arms and giggled as he wrapped both arms around her._

 _ **"Lately I've been, I've been losing sleep-Dreaming about the things that we could be. But, baby I've been, I've been praying hard, said 'No more counting dollars, we'll be counting stars,"**_ _Ryker rested his face against hers, the small contact meant a lot to the both of them,_ _ **"Lately I've been, I've been losing sleep-Dreaming about the things that we could be. But, baby I've been, I've been praying hard, said 'No more counting dollars, we'll be-we'll be counting stars... Ye-e-yeah."**_

 _Aurora took the lead now. She let go of him and started to circle her lover, trailing her hand across his chest to his shoulders before resting her hands on his back. She then turned him around and hugged him close, stroking his cheek with one of her hands._

 _ **"I feel her love and I feel it burn down this river every time. Hope is our four-letter word, make that money watch it burn."**_ _Ryker sang as his hands were lit afire, Aurora welcoming its warmth as he held her hands though she didn't get burned._

 _He rested his forehead against hers, kissing her lightly on the nose and casting her to giggle once more. Only Ryker could make her giggle like that of a high school girl in love._

 _ **"Old but, I'm not that old, young, but I'm not that bold. And I don't think the world is sold, I'm just doing what we're told. An I, feel something so right by doing the wrong thing. An I, feel something so wrong by doing the right thing."**_

 _Ryker smiled, his teeth flashing in the moon's light. Aurora, for some inexplicable reason, wanted to poke at his fangs of which stuck out when he smiled. That's when she realized why Ryker smiles without showing his teeth most of the time when it comes to other people... if he smiled to begin with._

 _ **"I could lie, couldn't I, couldn't I?"**_ _Ryker looked into her eyes once more,_ _Aurora looking back at his. As the moment passed, their smiles grew larger and their eyes seemed to shine brighter._ _ **"Everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly."**_

 _ **" Lately I've been, I've been losing sleep,"**_ _Ryker began but this time, Aurora sang along,_ _ **"Dreaming about the things that we could be. But, baby I've been, I've been praying hard, said 'No more counting dollars, we'll be counting stars."**_ _Aurora began to hum along to the song, her voice sounded harmoniously._ _ **"Lately I've been, I've been losing sleep-Dreaming about the things that we could be. But, baby I've been, I've been praying hard, said 'No more counting dollars, we'll be-we'll be counting stars."**_ _Ryker finished though not with Aurora since she was humming along with his words._

 _Ryker made her cry out in surprise as he lifted her bridal style and started spinning around slowly with her. He held her close and Aurora could feel tears escaping her eyes. She held in her sobs but smiled all the while._

 _ **I don't want this dream to end... Not yet..**_ _she mentally sobbed._

 _ **"Oh, take that money watch it burn, sing in the river the lessons I learned,"**_ _Ryker's flames along with Aurora's water and ice started to wrap around the two like a vortex. Aurora began singing Rahe rest of the lyrics with Ryker again and tried, with success, not to choke on her words._ _ **"Take that money watch it burn, sing in the river the lessons I learned. Take that money watch it burn, sing in the river the lessons I learned. Take that money watch it burn, sing in the river the lessons I learned."**_

 _Ryker stopped spinning her and gave her a warm smile. He kissed her, Aurora returning the kiss and the two stayed there for a moment. Their love and passion was the only thing important at that moment. Aurora let a few more tears fall as she knew that her dream was coming to an end._

 _ **"Everything that kills me..."**_ _Ryker said as the disconnected, giving her another smile,_ _ **"makes me feel alive."**_

 _Aurora returned the smile and stood up, sighing happily as Ryker wrapped his arms around her for the final time. She rested her head on his chest and held him there, not wanting to let go. Now, much more slowly and lasting, they sang the last few lyrics._

 _ **"Lately I've been, I've been losing sleep.. Dreaming about the things that we could be. But, baby I've been, I've been praying hard, said 'No more counting dollars, we'll be counting stars... Said' No more counting dollars, we'll be counting stars... "**_ _Aurora looked up at Ryker who inched his face closer to her. She smiled and did the same, her eyes glinting as more tears threatened to pour._

 _ **".. We'll be-eeee..., counting.. sta-aaaars..."**_ _the two finished as they kissed._

 _They stayed liked that for another few minutes, their arms wrapped around each other and bodies warm. Aurora gave up and let her tears flow, Ryker simply continued to hold her close to him. After a while, Aurora stopped crying and they disconnected, both smiling._

 _ **"We'll rescue you. I know we will."**_ _Aurora said like it was a fact as Ryker's form began to turn dark, shadows slightly obscuring her view of him._

 _Ryker simply smiled back at her and nodded, waving farewell to her as their surroundings began to disappear. Aurora thought for a moment before finally deciding. She knew he already knew since this was technically in her head but she wanted to say it anyway._

 _ **"I love you, Ryker!"**_ _she shouted, happy that she got the chance to say it after so long._

 _Ryker chuckled and what he did next surprised her to no end. He pointed to himself and made a shape of a heart with his hands. He then pointed to himself, his eyes this time, and pointed back to her. Aurora didn't know what to say, why didn't he just say it back to her?_

 _Wait._

 _Aurora froze, her mouth hung open in shock. Ryker chuckled once more before finally winking at her, most of his body now covered by shadows. Aurora snapped out of her shock and reached out to him, but by that time, everything went black._

 **Den cave..**

Aurora snapped her eyes open and jumped, looking around to find everyone asleep. She found that it was morning and shoot her head in disbelief. She couldn't believe it. Yet, she knew it was the truth. Ryker, whether it be serious or not, would never lie to her.

 _ **"... I must say, I moved around quite a bit... "**_

Aurora shook her head again, the truth made her shake and shudder with each passing secondm

 _ **"- using Dark Astral Projection which is like sending a clone of me to another place though you can't feel it if you were to touch it But, you can feel it if it were to attack you.. "**_

Aurora shook again, but with excitement and happiness though still a little shocked.

 _He was with me every since I went to the Realms! Through Dark Astral Projection! HE was the one who trained me everyday. HE'S the dark figure. That's why I couldn't feel his hands whenever we trained... He was watching over me the entire time. He even visited me in my dreams..._ Aurora thought to herself, her mind in a frenzy due to excitement.

Then she stopped, an expression of curiosity set upon her face.

 _Since he trained me all this time... That means he was trying to prepare me for the fight._ Aurora chuckled to herself as a thought came to mind. _He knew he would fail if he tried to persuade me otherwise, to just let Lygon win. No, instead, he trained me since he knew there's no stopping me... "Together forever", Ryker.. That's us._

Another few moments passed before Aurora began to growl, though low enough to the point where she didn't wake anyone near here. She got up and silently stomped out of the cave, her teeth bared and her eyes showing fury. She shook her head, trying to get rid of her anger but it kept coming back.

 _All this time... THREE YEARS! And NOW he wants to contact me through projection? The hell, Ryker?!_ she seethed, considering Ryker lucky that he wasn't here with her at the moment.

 _Just wait,_ she threatened with a spark in her eyes, _Just wait when we rescue you._

 **Two days later..**

"So," Aurora began, talking in her anthromorphic form, "Lygon and his troops will most likely charge head on, because that's the type of person he is."

Like her mental planning, she had a detailed map (drawn by Balto) and marked the center where Lygon and his forces will charge. The group listened on intently, Aurora's voice actually bounced off the walls of the cave. Those who couldn't fit were given the plan mentally by Ania.

"Now, we are going to do the same thing except," Aurora marked two spots on the corners of the map as well as a mark behind the center mass that represented them. She also highlighted an area above Lygon's charging group. "we are going to be in groups of four. Two groups will split off from the main one and cover the sides. Their jobs will be to flank Lygon's main assault group and overpower their forces along with the main center group, us." Aurora explained. She then pointed to the highlighted area on the map, circling her finger around it with emphasis. "This group, the fourth group, will be in the air. Their main job is to attack from above and fight off any aerial mobs as well as look out for possible ambush or any other ground troops. If the latter shows up, the fourth group will split up and thus, the fifth group will take care of the rest of the ground troops that are not part of Lygon's main assault group. The general layout of our forces will be as follows: The main group, which includes me, are going to be charging against Lygon's. Healers will stay on the sidelines and focus on those who are having trouble with combat. Now, defenders will be at the front of the main group. They will basically mow down as many enemies as they can before doubling back to the main group. You all already know where the rest of the groups go."

"Question," an unknown wolf in its anthromorphic form asked, "if Lygon has more groups than planned and there's more ambushes than we planned for?"

A murmur of uneasiness sounded in the meeting, Aurora had to clear her throat multiple times to get their attention.

"If that happens, stay in small groups and have at least two people that are adept at healing. Theres enough for each small group to have one defender, two healers, and a few melee or gunslingers. Everyone, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT go off on your own. Anything can happen out there and we don't want to have a high casualty statistic." Aurora stated, the confidence in her voice somewhat boosted the morale of her friends and allies.

She noticed Rune with a uneasy expression and nudged him, nodding for him to ask his question.

"What about us? Of the Dark? We can't even get in the battlefield thanks to the Eye. How are we going to help out?"

Aurora smiled, she knew that question was going to pop up sooner or later. She looked around, seeing all of those who are of Darkness. There was about a couple hundred, the majority of the group being of Light.

"Thank you for bringing that up, Rune. For you guys, you will stay here." Aurora marked a spot behind her main group and the entire area behind it became highlighted. "You all will provide ranged support, whether it be healing or attacking. You will stay here until I destroy the Eye. Then, if the battle hasn't ended already, finish off Lygon and his soldiers." Aurora answered though received shock looks as a result.

 _How are you going to take out the Eye?_ Demon asked, obviously intrigued.

Honestly, Aurora wasn't planning to tell them that part of the plan. She was supposed to climb up the Beacon, after breaking away from the main group, rescue Nyx, then somehow destroy the Eye or find a way to shut it down. Aurora didn't want to tell them that though, for they wouldn't want her to go off alone.

"Ah, she's got it. I bet she has an entire plan just for the Eye alone. We can trust her." Vulcan announced, Aurora giving him a thankful look in response.

Aurora then cleared her throat and scanned the group, her eyes stern though she wasn't really trying to be. She nodded as she calculated their numbers. She figured that they should be able to match Lygon's forces and stand a good fighting chance against him. Plus, they had a few advantages. While Lygon's only has beings and pokémon of Light, Aurora had those of a large variety of elements. The dragons from the Realms will especially help as well as the gear Vargulf and Grace came back with. Then there was Rick and his extraordinary abilities and also Ally and Ultima. These.. unique, for lack of a better word, people should be able to surprise Lygon and throw him off his game.

"Any more questions? It's okay if you have any. There's no stupid question." Aurora asked, smiling at the mass of shaking heads.

"Looks like you raised their spirits quite a bit." Ally remarked, the soldiers giving a small cheer when they heard her statement.

Aurora beamed at her allies, finding it amazing that their spirits remained so high in the type of situation they were in. Truly amazing. Aurora then remembered an important idea, the thought of high spirits reminded her of it.

"Alright everyone. The meeting is adjourned and prepare to head out for the Beacon. Once we get there, we'll go I've a quick summary of the plan before initiating the operation." Aurora added before everyone dispersed, excited though slightly nervous about their upcoming battle.

Aurora left the cave as everyone prepared themselves. She turned to see Vulcan who followed her when he noticed that she was in a hurry.

"Where are you going, Aurora? Is there a problem?"

Aurora shook her head and turned back around. She raised a hand and a portal materialised before her. Vulcan looked on with a look of confusion before shaking his head.

"I'm going to see if some old friends of mine would like to help us. You take them to the Beacon, Vulcan. I'll be back soon, don't you worry." Aurora told him before stepping inside the portal and disappearing.

Vulcan sighed and shook his head with a chuckle before turning back around. To his surprise, everyone was already ready to go and they were lined up in several rows. Vulcan smiled and summoned his armor, opening a portal to the Beacon.

"Everyone! On me!" he yelled out in a authoritative tone as he turned around and walked into the portal.

Everyone got into a single file line before following him in, the dragons in the back in the line and the soldiers in front while being led by the inner circle of friends in front. When they appeared through the other side, they looked to see a landscape somewhat similar to Aurora's map. Already, they were beginning to feel nervous but Vulcan's optimistic attitude coupled with the confident air around Demon seemed to calm them down. Aniu quickly walked in front of the large mass, making sure everyone paid full attention before giving them a reassuring nod.

 _My family... Friends and allies.. This battle will be difficult. There will be death, whether it be on Lygon's side or ours. Before we begin, I want to thank the dragons of the Realms for taking part of this even though they have no affiliation with Fang whatsoever. Everyone please give them a round of good thanks._

The dragons were surprised to see many enthusiastic cheers and applause from the group, some were too modest to react properly. Others, like Spyro, simply smiled and bowed his head in thanks and respect towards Aniu. After the noise died down, Aniu redirected her gaze to Rick and his family though Alana stayed behind with Sheerah.

 _Also, I would like to thank Rick and his family of the Raltz evolution. They supplied us with invaluable knowledge and training of mental combat as well as helping around with our young._ Aniu added.

Another round of praise sounded for Rick and his family. Rick simply laughed with a smile, waving at them all with a happy gaze. Again, the applause died down soon after and this time, Aniu turned her sights to Vulcan, Ultima, Ally, the Drakengards, including Draken and Lunalesse, and the two former Special Forces pokémon. She gave them all a smile and didn't even have to voice their actions for the rest of the group already began cheering for them. Vulcan laughed like Rick did though he simply drew his sword which was lit ablaze, he waved it in a uplifting manner and even more cheers sounded from the group. At that moment, the voices quieted as a portal appeared next to Aniu.

Aurora walked out of the portal in her **Altered Form,** her armor already donned and gleaming in the sunlight. She gave them all a smile before stepping to the side and sitting on her haunches. The rest of the group didn't looked at her with questioning though it was silently answered as a spiky-haired man, in his early twenties, stepped out of the portal. He had brown hair which stuck out in random directions and bright blue eyes. He was wearing a red jacket with a white t-shirt underneath complete with black jeans. Along with yellow fingerless gloves, he had dark gray shoes and a crown necklace that gleamed with a small glow. In his hand was a strange weapon, one that looks like to be used as a sword. The weapon was shaped like a sword though not exactly. The bald itself was a dark white-silver color though the tip of the blade extended in a small arc that turned black then back to white. The arc had a few spiked points, some white, others black. The hand guard of the weapon was black and was similar to a dog's collar, being spiked on the outside with white tips. The center of the hand guard had a strange white sigil, resembling a three-pointed cross on a blue background. The hilt of the weapon was checkered, black and white squares that led to what seems to be a long keychain that ended in a strange "X" symbol.

Another man came from the portal though this one, everyone somewhat recognized due to his aura which glowed blue. His hair was really spiky though it looked like it was recently cut, being styled into a small fauxhawk. The man had brown eyes that slightly glowed blue. He had a blue jacket with rolled up sleeves complete with gray jeans. He wore a red shirt underneath and wore a blue pokétch on his right wrist. In his hand was a blue blade that glowed with his aura. Of course, it was an aura blade and there was no details that stood out. On the man's shoulders was a Pikachu though its fur was black and its eyes were a dark blue. However, as unusual as it was, the Pikachu smiled and waved at everyone with an excited and happy look.

 _Everyone, I would like to introduce you to two friends of mine. They have helped me in the past and now, they are willing to help us with our mission. As most of you already instinctually know, this is Ashura Ketchum, the Aura Prince. The one next to him is Sora, he hails from a different dimension and like Ashura, he didn't hesitate to aid us. Please treat them with upmost respect as you would yourself._ Aurora announced as a few excited murmurs sounded throughout the group.

Aniu ended the quick meeting and the rest of them began to prepare themselves for the inevitable. There was no turning back now though they all knew that. They knew that there's a chance that they will lose a loved one though that thought alone encouraged them to fight well and prevent that from happening.

Ragna and Saphira walked up to Ash who became nervous at the two approaching Drakengards. Ragna lowered his head to Ash's eye level, unintentionally intimidating the Aura Prince though Pikachu seemed to recognized the white-scaled beast of myth.

 _It's been a long while, Ash... What happened to Pikachu?_

Ash looked confused and gestured to Pikachu who was happily downing a pack of Ketchup.

"He went through serious training with Lord Arceus and he came back like this. I was just as surprised... Do I know you?" Ash replied.

Ragna chuckled at Ash's confusion and nodded, gesturing to Saphira before giving another smile.

 _Don't tell me you've forgotten about us,_ Saphira cut in, _It's us, Ragna and me, Saphira._

Ash finally recognized their voices and began to stutter in shock. However, before he could say anything, Ragna nudged him saying that he will explain later. Next, Sora walked up to them and scratched the back of his head.

"Heya, guys. I'm Sora and it was more like Aurora helped me a long while back. She helped reunite me with my friends and defeat some guys who wanted to rid everyone back home of their hearts." Sora announced with a wide smile.

Already, those of the main group thought about Sora's personality and placed him with Vulcan and Balto, all three of them share the same goofy grin and carefree attitude. Sora noticed their looks and got nervous, wondering what they were thinking.

"Is there something wrong? Do I have something on my face?" Sora asked as he began to feel around on his face.

"No, no, " Vulcan reassured as he pointed to Sora's weapon, "we're just wondering what kind of weapon you're using."

"Oh, I'm a Keyblade master. Long story short, I'm someone who fends off Heartless, Nobodies, and Unversed to prevent disaster. This is a keyblade, a weapon that takes many forms depending on the special Keychain I attach to it. This one is called 'Two Become One'. It represents Darkness and Light as two equal forces that doesn't work without the other. Most importantly, it represents me... I'll explain it to you all later." Sora answered while they inspected his Keyblade.

Light and Darkness together? The two become one? Can that ever happen without conflict? Yes, there are great living examples of that such as Ryker and Aurora or Aniu and Demon but will the two opposing forces will ever settle down peacefully? The idea of it seems preferable at first but then one would think, at what cost? You cannot change a fundamental origin. Sadly, without the two going at it, the world will be left with chaos, something in between. Chaos...

The group finally finished doing what they had to do before heading towards the Beacon. About halfway there, those of Darkness stayed behind and prepared themselves to attack from afar. The large mass finally split up into their different groups, each aware of their crucial role in the upcoming battle. Aurora was in the air, leading the main group towards the center of the battlefield. The guards in front of the entrance of the Beacon quickly took notice and sounded an alarm, shouting orders and readying their defenses. However, too their surprise, Aurora didn't call an order to attack. Instead, she waited there waiting for her foe to show up. Aurora looked up at the sky, seeing that it was very cloudy and if there were to be rain, it would hinder anyone flying, not including herself and a few others due to the fact she can manipulate water. Finally, the entrance to the Beacon opened and Ligon stepped out, an army followed close behind him.

Lygon noticed Aurora in the air and gave a look of concern, flying up to her whilst wondering why she had brought an army. He reached her and hovered in front of her, giving her a questioning look.

"Lady Islingr Suicune, I'm greatly at a loss for words. Why are you here and explain why you brought an army." he demanded, his eyes fierce though they didn't intimidate her.

Aurora took a deep breath, giving Lygon a glare that sent him chills. He slightly distanced himself from her, in case she attacked without warning.

 _I'm here to ask of you one final time.. Please release Alpha Fang from your captivity. He has done nothing wrong and-_

"The Dark One in maximum security?! Are you daft?! It's obvious he's a monster, is it not? Don't forget that you were _manipulated_ by him, you and many others as it seems. Please understand when I say you are starting to worry me, I might have to take you and your colleagues in as well. Turn back now and we'll forget this happened. I'll only say it once." Lygon interrupted her, his sudden outburst caused some of his soldiers to back away.

 _No, I will not,_ Aurora said with a low growl, _He is not a monster and he never manipulated any of us. In fact, we figured out what he is long time ago, before you even picked up his presence. Alpha didn't do harm to anyone of the innocent, neither did he do those things he spoke of back when you arrested him. Don't you see? He was trying to protect us back there from YOU. He knew you were after him and if you knew we were aware of what he is, you would arrest us as well... Please, Lygon, give my love back to me and we'll avoid this battle._

Lygon hovered there in shock, unbelieving of what she had just to him. Aurora and Fang were lovers? They were in on it the entire time? Lygon shook his head and growled at Aurora, his sharp teeth bared and his tail flicking back and forth furiously.

"So you were harboring a monster the entire time... No, I will not release him. In fact, I'm going to arrest you all and end this insanity. Hell, I'll give you a special cell next to him since you love him so much. You can see to it that the lot of you will never get out." Lygon snarled as he tackled Aurora.

The act threw the two sides into an uproar, the battle of the Beacon had begun. In the Hall of Origins, the Legendaries sat on there podiums and watched with worry. They knew Lygon was in the wrong but then again, they couldn't blame Jim. The captured Fenrir did exhibit enormous Dark power though he didn't use it for his own gain or against others. So, with the two Arceus' orders, they each prayed and gave blessings to those on Aurora's side. Now, the group fighting Lygon felt a sudden quickness to their movements as well as their bodies somewhat fortified with ethereal armor.

From her large scrying orb, Jeanne entered the minds of Aurora's group. She couldn't directly do anything about the battle since it was not her place to do so but she can influence the outcome to their favor.

 _Fight with your all and try not to kill, only do so when necessary. Bloodshed does not solve anything but it will leave deep wounds, both physical and mental as well as emotional._

All on Aurora's side of the battle were warmed that the Goddess of Pokémon had faith in them. It was rather ironic as it should be the other way around. However, it boosted their moral tremendously and they didn't worry about losing anymore.

Amazingly, there were no deaths in the battle yet. There were those with injuries, severe and light, though they either jumped back into the battle after being healed or remained out of it. Both sides seemed to notice that no one was dying so they each had a few small subgroups go for the healers. The battle will be a long one, an arduous, grueling, and memorable one. Sounds of muffled gunfire, magical attacks, clanging of metal against metal, an explosions sounded off with every second. Luckily, they had set up a soundproof barrier so that outside interference by humans and pokémon was prevented. Blood stained the ground though they mixed, preventing them to tell whose was which.

Another twenty or so minutes, bodies finally littered the ground. It was unavoidable and they all knew it. Even some of Lygon's soldiers questioned whether or not the Manticore was right to arrest the Dark One. They questioned whether or not he was right to arrest most of the beings of Darkness in captivity within the Beacon.

 **With the Drakengards, the dragons of the Realms, and Ally...**

The aerial group bombarded the the approaching ambush ground forces on Lygon's side, fire and other elements mingled together like a symphony. The ground beneath was not given mercy, cracks started to appear, fires started, waste began to spread.

"Incoming!" Spyro shouted to them as both air defenses and aerial troops were headed towards them.

The group performed evasive maneuvers while others charged into the oncoming fleet. Shouts of pain and fury sounded and some troops began to fall from the sky.

Ragna spotted several air defenses on the ground and narrowed his eyes. He tucked in his wings and dived towards the ground, the soldiers manning the defenses dove out of the way for fear of being crushed. Instead of crashing, Ragna blew a torrent of flames and shot several balls of Light at the numerous rows of cannons and such, triggering several explosions and caused fire to spread throughout the area. He then pulled up at the last moment, taking to the skies again. He was met with one of Lygon's troops, a wyvern with purple scales, and the two collided. They tried to bite at the other's neck but separated when they came close to the ground. Ragna fired a beam of Light St the wyvern who got hit in the shoulder.

 _Damn you!_ a deep masculine voice told him.

The wyvern suddenly tackled him and they crashed into a wall of rock, tumbling down as they clawed and bit at each other. Ragna kicked at the wyvern's stomach and manged to knock the air out of his opponent. He then headbutted the wyvern before bathing him in a torrent of blue flame. The wyvern screamed in agony as it got up and retreated, blood dripping from its stomach as he flew away. Ragna winced as he got up only to duck as a slash from one of Lygon's troops, a **Leaf Blade** whizzing by from a Florges. He ducked once more as the plant pokémon tried to slash another at him though only to rear back in pain when Ragna bathed its roots in flames.

Lyrith snarled as he tore out the throat of a really corrupted troop of Lygon's group. The soldier crumpled to the ground, used to be a living Lucario. When they two fought, Lyrith had sensed pure malice and disturbing thoughts. He wondered if he did the Lucario a favor... He probably did.

Lyrith spat out the chunk of blue fur and bloody flesh from his mouth, finding that the bitter taste seemed to linger for a small bit. He stretched for a moment, his muscles somewhat loosened then tensed once more as he sidestepped a sword slash from another Lucario, this one a lighter blue in color. The Lucario snarled and thrusted his sword at Lyrith who faked a lunge, succeeding and parrying and therefore disarming the Lucario. The Lucario quickly fired a small but fast **Aurora Sphere** , then gasping in shock as Lyrith skillfully avoided it. The dragons of the Realms knew this, and so did the rest of the group, but Lyrith was a natural born fighter. Abandoned as an egg, he grew up in an orphanage for most of his life up to his late teenage years. Everyday, he would leave and work at his job at the nearby forge to earn enough money to pay the rent in the orphanage. Due to heavy lifting most of the time, he developed an ideal body for male dragons and yet, he still felt the need to fly for a while and climb the mountain that resided behind the orphanage. One day, Inferna came by looking for a prodigy for The Temple. Again, Albinos were not respected at that time and that was the reason why no one bothered to adopt Lyrith. She came by the orphanage and witnessed him take on three other bully dragons, two of the three twice his size. She then put him through a test, the result was him rescuing a "damsel in distress" from a large group of apes that turned out to be dummies. Inferna took him in afterwards and treated him as if he was her own son. She ignored his Albino status and was impressed by his combat skills, despite the fact he didn't have any elemental power. After putting him through many courses in The Temple, punishing racist dragons and in one case, a teacher, and aiding her in saving the Realms, the Albinos became a well respected race. After everything calmed down, Inferna surprised Lyrith by showing him a document stating that she and her mate, Hontus, and Earth dragon back at the Realms, would be Lyrith's parents if he wanted them to be. Lyrith instantly broke down and agreed to it with tears and the three grew as a happy family.

Since then, Lyrith still trained when he could. He found a loving mate in Voltlyn and caring friends with the rest of the group. They gave him strength, the strength he knew will allow him to make it through the battle.

Lyrith swiped his tail at the Lucario's legs, knocking the jacket to his feet. Lyrith then incapacitated him by punching the pokémon in the liver. The move caused the Lucario to twitch, he had trouble breathing and soon afterwards, it passed out. The liver, as Lyrith learned, is the largest gland organ in the body as well as a center of blood circulation and if blunt force would be applied to it, the result would be a damaging shock that would cause the victim to feel breathless. Lyrith sighed, moving on and pairing up with Inferna and Cyril, the latter focused in healing while the former was fending off multiple enemies at a time.

 **With Aniu and Rasha...**

The two were standing back to back, not once breaking formation as they fended off some of Lygon's troops. Ahead of them, Vulcan, Balto, Gray, and Ally were trying to make their way towards the entrance only to be held back by more soldiers. Behind that group was Vargulf and Grace, both trying to make their way towards Aniu's group. Frustrated after some failed attempts, Vargulf growled and went invisible before Grace followed suit, the two suddenly by Aniu's side as their exo-suits finally ran out of battery life. The five of them were now on a star formation, effective for knocking back enemies without having to worry about someone sneaking up on you. Eventually, piles of enemies either dead or unconscious piled up around the five of them. However, they were beginning to get overwhelmed when suddenly, Ultima appeared and drove his greatsword into the ground which sent a shockwave from the point of contact. The surrounding troops fell back with pain as Ultima pulled his weapon out of the ground, giving a thumbs out to the group of five who nodded their thanks to him. He nodded in reply and ran to Rick's group which consisted of him, Harmony, and Maiyu. They welcomed his help and Rick gave Ultima a devilish smile, using **Psychic** to throw a group of enemies at the swordsman. Ultima quickly yelled out and ducked out of the way, quickly recovering to fend defend himself against the thrown victims.

 **With Aurora...**

Aurora growled as she slashed at Lygon's face, making him scream out as one of his eyes loosely hung from its socket. He snarled and tore it out with a wince, closing the wound with some of his magic.

"You bitch!" he roared as he launched himself at her.

Aurora quickly surprised him by getting on her back, catching him with her feet then pushed him off of her and into a pillar of rock. That was a move taught to her from Ryker back at the Realms. He had to make MULTIPLE gestures in order for her to finally get in the position and learn. Aurora got up and turned around to see Lygon charge a beam of Light though it had a sickly dark green hue to it... corrupted. He fired the beam at her and it connected with her side, sending her crashing into her own allies. Aurora got up with a groan and apologized to them before taking off after Lygon who was in the air at that moment.

Aurora blew a blizzard of dry ice at him, coating one of his wings in it. Lygon didn't expect it coming and reacted by screaming out in pain as the dry ice burned his flesh. He quickly used his claws and scraped off the dry ice, making sure none got on the rest of his body. However, he was too focused on doing so and didn't notice Aurora coming up from behind. She slashed at his back, leaving several gashes on his back. Lygon didn't cry out in pain but growled before batting her with one of his large wings, sending her hurtling towards the ground. Fortunately, Aurora recovered before crashing and was able to get enough lift to pull up. Having four wings helped some and had she only had two wings, she probably wouldn't be able to recover before hitting the ground.

Aurora landed only to get barreled into by Lygon, sending them both crashing into a few trees. As they tumbled, Aurora clawed and bit at him, not letting up in her attack. Lygon simply kicked her since he somewhat injured his fore paws when he tackled her. Aurora looked herself over, seeing some bleeding cuts and scrapes underneath her armor. She then looked over at a furious Lygon, seeing minor wounds and several slashes on his body. She figured that if she kept it up, she might get seriously injured but by then, Lygon would pass out from blood loss.

Suddenly, a pair of slash marks appeared on Lygon's chest and he shouted out in pain. Sora and Ash appeared in front of her, their weapons crossed and their their bodies still unscathed from the battle.

"Aurora, how ahead and free Alpha. We'll hold off Lygon until you do." Sora stated as he readied himself as Lygon began to growl.

"No! I won't allow you imbeciles to go and try TO-ARGHHH!" Lygon stated with a scream as Ash flicked the blood off his aura blade.

"We'll be fine, my lady. Please go and recuse Lord Fang so we can end this fight. I don't want to continue hurting anymore pokémon or any other beings of Light Lygon has on his side." Ash stated as Pikachu began to spark with dark blue lightning.

Pikachu then released a **Thunderbolt** upon Lygon, paralyzing the Manticore for the time being. He then jumped off Ash's back and **Iron Tailed** Lygon's nose, effectively breaking it.

"ARGH! YOU DAMN MOUSE!" Lygon exclaimed as his aura began to show more of his corruption.

He then sent a blast of corrupted Light at Pikachu, sending the poor mouse into Sora who caught him with a _huff._

"Pikachu! You alright, buddy?" Ash shouted.

Pikachu got up and began to angrily mutter a stream of curses at Lygon. Ash and Aurora, both understanding Pikachu, paled as the mouse finished his swearing.

"... No more ketchup for you." Ash muttered silently.

"Pika pikapi pi pikapika." Pikachu replied and actually gave Ash the finger.

Ash ignored the gesture and the three finally began to attack Lygon once more, allowing Aurora to leave and go for Ryker. She ran across the bridge, freezing the oncoming guards and killing the corrupted ones. When she reached the door, she threw herself through it which left a gaping hole. Aurora shook herself as bits of the door fell to the floor. She then scanned the area for the stairs and found them, quickly running to them then climbing up at a fast pace. As she reached the second floor, she encountered a Serperior guard and defended herself when it attacked. The Serperior sent multiple **Razor Leaf** attacks at her, reminding Aurora the time she fought against Lich. Aurora then refocused on the large snake and widened her eyes when it performed **Frenzy Plant** , large roots sprouted from the ground and drilled their way towards her. Aurora quickly jumped over the roots and froze the ground, keeping the Serperior in place.

Aurora then left it there and went up another flight of stairs. She kept going and going, doing the same to all of the guards she came across. She didn't bother with them and just froze them in place. She didn't want anything more than to free Ryker at the moment and nothing was going to stop her. As she finally reached the cell floors, she passed by many captured creatures and pokémon. As she neared them, she would check their mind and see if they were innocent or not. If the former, she would blast open their cell and free them. If the latter, she would just leave them there until she can figure out what to do with them.

So far, she released more than two thirds of the prisoners. She told them to remain inside the Beacon since the Eye would just hinder them. At first, they didn't trust her for she was one of Light. However, when she told them about their battle against Lygon, they instantly followed her advice. The freed went to the bottom floor and, as she instructed, knocked out any remaining guards without killing them. Again, Aurora thought that she would deal with them later. She planned for all of the soldiers of Lygon's army to lay there weapons down. If that didn't work, there was the two Arceus they could talk to...

Aurora was about a few floors away from maximum security when she reached Nyx, the Umbreon extremely surprised to see her.

 _Hello, old friend._ Aurora said with a smile as she broke open the cell.

Nyx smiled as well as she took off his shackles, allowing him to walk freely. Though he hobbled a little, he told her he would be fine once he feeds energy from the shadows. Once he did that, his blue rings shined brighter than normal and even his blue eyes were glowing. He hugged her and surprised her when he sprouted two wings, both made of his aura.

"Thank you for freeing me, Aurora. I was actually about to ask someone to release me so that I could go to the loo. I have a nasty stomach ache and their rubbish of food doesn't help either." he told her, making her chuckle.

She never forgot that he could talk. His British accent was always interesting to hear. Plus, his jokes always sounded funnier whenever he voiced it. Aurora figured she would have to introduce him to her friends and family later before they can catch up on lost years of friendship.

He then inspected her, making a surprised face as well as a few nods of approval.

 _What?_ she asked as they began to climb another set of stairs.

"You've grown! I remember when I was a wee little eeveelution and you were a wee pup. I heard of an Islingr Suicune evolving multiple times and I knew it had to be you. I just needed to see it to believe it. Anyways, how have you been, dear?"

That was another thing. Nyx was a gentleman and he has great care for his friends. No matter who it is, even if it was a total stranger, he would be extremely friendly to them. Back then, he called her "dearie" or "hon" all the time. It was in his diction. He was a sweet guy but she knew he had no sort of sensual affection to her.

 _Good, actually. Sorry, but we need to catch up later. We need to rescue my mate._

"Crikey! You've gotten yourself a mate?! That's ace! Bloody hell, I had hoped I'd get one before you, sweetheart." Nyx told her with a huh to which she returned with a giggle.

 _Yeah, he's been arrested for literally, nothing like you. Lygon thought he was too much of a threat to be allowed walking freely._

"Ah, the arsehole. Doesn't matter now, you've got your buddies out there beating the blooming bastard, right?"

 _Hopefully. I got roughed up pretty bad by him before I got in._

Nyx then surprised her as he suddenly poked one of her wings, making her jump before resuming her walk to the maximum security cells. She glanced back at Nyx who was smiling all the while, poking at her wings.

 _What is it?_

Nyx chuckled as he caught up with her, the two of them walking passed a few more doors before reaching the most heavily guarded area in the Beacon.

"You have four if these flappers now, again, pretty ace!"

Aurora rolled her eyes with a laugh and led him into the cell, finding a large group of guards in front of a large containment box which had numerous chains wrapped and attached to it. The floor around it was soaked with blood, only a few spatters were recent. Above, the scythe hung precariously and connected to the box was a tube than ran from... The Eye. At that realization, Aurora instantly became even more worried, wondering if they were using it to hurt Ryker with Light.

"That's awe-inspiring. Who would need that much restraint?" Nyx asked her though he went unheard as Aurora charged into the group of guards.

Nyx chuckled and joined the fray, flying to one of the guards and headbutt in him. Due to Umbreons having strong bones, his skull the hardest structure in his body, the blow sent the guard reeling and he fainted upon impact. Nyx shook his head, he didn't do that for a long while. He then quickly jumped back as another guard, a Buizel, sent a **Water Pulse** his way. Nyx quickly rolled and sent a **Shadow Ball** to the Buizel, sending it into another guard who was trying to sneak up on Aurora.

"H-How are you not affected by the Eye?! You should be weakened!" the Buizel asked though to a human, it would sound like a repetition of its name.

Nyx smiled and spread his wings, they were glowing bright blue with his aura though we're bordered with a gold. Aurora smiled as well, she already knew he wouldn't be affected by the Eye.

"You see, my good man, my mother is an Espeon. See, she's part of the Knights as am I. Do you get it now you blooming tit or do I have to spell it out for you?" Nyx replied before he knocked out the Buizel and the guard, a Tuaros, beneath him. "Fucking cunts.." he muttered.

Aurora heard Nyx's insult. He had a bad habit of cursing whenever he gets angry and after being imprisoned for so long, she wouldn't blame him. Aurora bit down on the guard's shoulder, causing the Grumpig squeal in pain. She then batted it away with a wing and looked around, finding that there was no other guard around. She then focused on the containment box, wondering if it would be easier to destroy the Eye first.

"What do we do now, hon?" Nyx asked, eyeing the large box.

Aurora was about to answer when all of a sudden, the box shook with a loud _thud!_ They took a step or two back before more noise sounded from the box. A few more moments later, the box busted open, the four sides crashing into the walls. There, wrapped by chains that were infused with Light, kneeled Ryker. He was caked in dry blood though some look recent. It took a moment for Aurora to register his appearance.

Aside from the dry blood, she saw his long hair which was still naturally spiked. His bare body was covered with cuts and bruises and she noticed that his throat had already healed. His eyes were still closed but at that moment, Aurora remembered that Lygon blinded him with a charged Light chain. Nyx took a look at that bloodied man and cooked his head at an angle, a confused look upon his face.

"Uh, he's your mate?" he asked though again, went unheard as Aurora rushed over to Ryker who was breathing heavily.

She hugged him though made sure she didn't do so too hard for the chains were still wrapped around him. She felt him relaxing and she lifted her head to see him facing her direction with a smile, his eyes closed but she could still tell that he was relieved to see her.

"Aurora, it's nice to-"

 _*Slap!*_

Ryker stopped talking and gave a frown, wondering why she had done that. He then heard Aurora crying and instantly became worried, surprising them by freeing his hands from the shackles though still bound to the rest of the chains.

"Aurora!" he exclaimed as he held her, "Are you alright?"

 _Am I alright? Yes! Arcues damn it! Of course I'm alright! After all, YOU TRAINED ME FOR THREE YEARS STRAIGHT WITHOUT TELLING ME!_ she screamed at him.

Ryker chuckled and the act slightly ticked her off. However, she relaxed when he felt his hands cup her face, surprising Nyx as they kissed for a moment.

"Um.. " Nyx muttered but then stayed silent.

The two then separated and Ryker turned his head to Nyx, sniffing for a second before nodding.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sapphire Knight. My name is Ryker Fang and thank you for helping my mate reach me." Ryker stated, surprising Nyx once more. Ryker then turned back to Aurora and his smile disappeared, wincing as the Eye emitted a pulse of Light. "You need to get out of here before Lygon comes back. I can still feel his presence and he's still fighting strong."

 _No! I'm not leaving you here! I'm staying right here, by your side!_

"I know you won't, that's why we're leaving together. All three of us." Ryker replied.

"Well we just need to free you then, after that, we'll go kick Lygon's arse." Nyx commented.

Ryker nodded but a sudden stream of Light surged through the chains and to him, making him yell out in pain. His scream was kyle of agony and Aurora nearly broke down at the sound of it.

 _Ryker! Home on! I'll free you!_

"NO! You and Nyx step back! I'm going to destroy the Eye!" Ryker told them, still getting hurt from the Light surge.

Confused, the two cautiously took a step back as Ryker lowered his head with gritted teeth. He growled and his aura began to expand rapidly, quickly enveloping the two in the cell.

 _ **Now is the time. I will embrace the Darkness and will use it to protect those I love. There's no turning back. Am I ready?**_

"Ready." Ryker said almost aloud before he screamed and pulled at his chains.

The two before him covered their ears though widened their eyes in shock when the Light went _into_ him. He was absorbing it though at the same time, he was still getting hurt and his skin was turning red as it steamed. He continued to scream as he yanked his chains as hard as he can, destroying and freeing his left arm. He did the same for the right and the rest of the Light energy from the Eye flowed into him. At that moment, the Eye exploded into shards of glass. Aurora put up a barrier around them so that the shards wouldn't cut them though she kept an eye on Ryker the entire time. Smoke filled the area and the two couldn't see a thing.

 _Ryker?! Are you alright?! Answer me!_ Aurora called out though the only response was the sound of Nyx's breathing and her own.


	24. Chapter 8 (DR)

**Another one, be happy.**

 **Chapter 8: Radiant Light and Nothing...Then a New Beginning**

Aurora and Nyx looked worried, both wondering if Ryker was okay or not. The two began to call out to him again but were silenced when they spotted him walking towards them. Aurora gasped when she saw her lover.

Ryker emitted a very powerful aura, one that was different from before. It wasn't Darkness but something else. Ryker stood before them, his hair flowing as a breeze came by. His family brands were now... darker than black. It's almost as if there was nothing there but an empty space, like someone could try and touch it and not feel a thing. On his chest was the same symbol she spotted sometime before back in Sinnoh, an _X_ behind an _A._ Ryker suddenly lifted Aurora up and placed his hand on her head, making her shudder as she felt the warm feeling. She was then in her anthromorphic form, making her and Nyx confused. They figured Ryker had something to do with it and Nyx was about to voice it until Ryker suddenly picked the Umbreon up and placed him on his shoulder.

"We're getting out. Now." Ryker said sternly, his voice was laced with authority and power.

Suddenly, the building began to rumble and the ceiling above them began to crumble. Ryker immediately ran down the stairs, Nyx holding on to his neck for dear life. When Ryker reached the lower floor, he was instantly blocked by dozens of guards that just flew in. At the sight of him, they charged though was met halfway by a torrent of **black** flames. Aurora noticed that his flames were like his family brands, darker than black like nothing... **Black..** Ryker closed his mouth as screams of agony sounded through the building. He then took off again, running up the wall and causing his passengers to exclaim in surprise. Ryker sniffed, finding that there were more guards coming up there way. He continued to run across the wall until he reached the other side of the floor, then blocked by more guards. Ryker simply waved his hands and a barrage of **black** shadows lacerated the mob. However, more guards came to replace the fallen ones and their numbers were quickly growing.

"We're going to get blocked off if we don't move now!" Aurora shouted.

"How are we-BLOODY HELL-LLLL!" Nyx exclaimed as Ryker ran up a pillar and jumped onto a falling piece of the building.

Ryker jumped onto another falling piece then grabbed a pole with his free hand. They spiraled down and as they did, aerial troops flew up to them and prepared to attack. Ryker simply bathed them in another torrent of flames and they safely reached the next floor. As Ryker stepped down, the floor began to crack and shift, making his two passengers look at him with worry. Plus, he was blind and they thought he was only acting on instinct.. which was not very far off. Ryker's ears twitched as he heard a breeze come through a nearby balcony. Luckily, when Lygon dragged him into the Beacon, Ryker memorized the layout of the place just in case he planned to escape. He knew where everything was at and the balcony was of no exception.

Ryker sprinted to the balcony through more guards blocked their path. Ryker simply growled and they all became incredibly scared then moved out of the way. More pieces of the building fell and Ryker had to perform some startling maneuvers to avoid them. They felt an strange sensation, the air around them suddenly tasting metallic and their hairs somewhat stood on end. However, that was the least of their worries.

"Balcony!"Aurora told Ryker though he simply nodded.

"Hold on you two. I'm getting us to the battlefield as fast as I can." he warned them.

They didn't have a chance to reply as he suddenly dived out of the balcony, Nyx screaming as Ryker held them both. They wondered why he didn't just let them fly but a wave of electricity suddenly pulsed through the air above them, answering their unasked question. When it disappeared, they were already close to the ground and the two closed their eyes to brace themselves. At that moment, they felt a huge surge of wind and opened their eyes to see two enormous black wings. Nyx widened his eyes when he noticed they belonged to Ryker and as much he wanted to say something about it, he feared he was going to vomit if he opened his mouth for the speed they were going rivaled a Latios/as.

Ryker flew them over to the center of the battlefield and let go of them, allowing them to safely drop to the ground. His ears twitched as the sounds of fighting continued to roar. Finally, Ryker growled and bared his teeth.

"ENOUGH!" he roared, stopping all combat around him.

All warriors stopped to see a winged man hovering in the battlefield, Aurora's group cheering when they noticed it was Ryker, the Alpha. However, they became silent when they heard him growling again. Lygon flew up to Ryker, a smirk present on his face.

"So, you made it out."

"I did."

"Oh? You finally talk? My, that's a breakthrough. Too bad I'm going to kill you once this idle talk is finished." Lygon then took note of Ryker's wings, inspecting them though not showing whether or not he was impressed or anything otherwise. "I knew you weren't human. A monster, that's what you truly are."

Ryker smirked and let out a small laugh, somewhat daunting the others with his dismissing attitude at the moment. He then regained his composure and gave Lygon a straight look.

"You finally figured it out, have you? No, I'm no human. Far from that. In fact, I think I agree with me being a monster.. "

Ryker scanned the area before him, taking in the scents and making an estimate on how many were on the battlefield as well as making out who was on his side. He recognized the dragons from the Realms since they each had a certain uniqueness to their scents such as Spyro who had a small mixture of all elements in his. He then frowned and shook his head, turning to Aurora and slightly angering Lygon since the Fenrir acted somewhat indifferent to the situation at hand.

"You've done a great job at leading them along with the rest of our family. You don't have to worry about me now, and thank you for not giving up on me. You should be proud as well, you've grown very strong since we last saw each other." Ryker told Aurora.

Aurora beamed and opened her mouth to reply but stopped when Ryker removed some dry blood from his face. He rubbed his closed eyelids and growled, the sound was low though it eventually stopped as he stopped rubbing his eyelids. Aurora cocked her head at an angle, wondering what was the point of that but she was quickly given a surprising answer.

Ryker's eyes behind his eyelids shifted about before he finally revealed them, they were both pitch **black** save for his irises which remained white. Aurora was about to ask if he could actually see but dismissed the question as Ryker turned to look at the Beacon.

At that moment, the Beacon collapsed and everyone watched silently. First, many more cracks branched from the base of the tower and remained that way for a quick second. Then, the cracks spread and grew wider with each passing second. The cracks grew until they reached the top of the Beacon where chips of the roof began to fall with loud rumbles. Finally, as soon as it began, the Beacon's summit collapsed in on itself and took down the rest of the tower with it, burying everything that was still within. Lygon growled and swiped at Ryker who simply reappeared behind the Manticore, his expression was dark and his eyes were piercing.

"My army!" Lygon bellowed with a snarl, "ATTACK WITH ALL OF YOUR POWERADE!" Lygon then sent a blast of corrupted Light in Ryker's direction but the Fenrir was already gone, reappearing on the ground in the center of everyone.

At the sight of him, troops closed in with haste, making sure they left no opening for him to escape. However, they tensed as Ryker growled and the sclera of his eyes turned black.

"Vulcan." he simply stated as said little brother appeared by his side.

"Brother? What do-?" Vulcan began though was interrupted as Ryker suddenly thrusted his hand to his face. Vulcan gasped as tendrils of Darkness flowed into him, much like the incident back in Skyrim though in reverse. He suddenly felt all of his power returned to him and growled in excitement. "Nevermind."

Vulcan then transformed into his **Natural Form** , shocking everyone save for Ryker who remained silent. Vulcan growled and let loose a howl into a sky, baring his fangs to Lygon and the rest of the Manticore's army. Lygon paled as he witnessed the revealing of the Fenrir, shocked at the fact that there was a living Fenrir before his very eyes. He then shook his head and corrected himself, TWO Fenrir were before him. He noticed that Vulcan emitted a similar aura to Ryker though Ryker made the younger brother's presence pale in comparison.

"Impossible! You were wiped out decades ago! How is it that you're still here?!" Lygon exclaimed as his troops grew nervous.

 **"How we survived is none of your business. Your main focus should be on us now, not the past."** Ryker answered, his language of Darkness and Fenrir thundered in everyone's ears, even Vulcan's. He then summoned his armor though shocked everyone once more as they noticed the helmet he donned. The black helmet had a skull-like visage though the eyes were angled as if angry. Two more indents represented the nose though the most notable feature was the mouth. The mouth had a canine-like structure, having sharp fangs as teeth though the four incisors were significantly larger than the others. There were tribal lines on the helmet that were positioned in the same areas as Ryker's family brands. The helmet sent shivers down everyone's spines as they noticed that only Ryker's eyes showed through the helmet, his face was hidden as if a great shadow was cast from the helmet to cover his entire facial features. The only thing visible besides his eyes was his hair and his ears.

Ryker's body was then covered by a shroud of **Darkness** and obscured everyone's vision of him. As fast as it came, the cover disappeared and they not8ced his armor had changed. There were no other color than **black** present. The Twilight Gems that were there were replaced with gems that were similar to obsidian. At the shoulders, the top half of a wolf's head was present, cutting off at the middle of the jaw. The same could be said for the knees of Ryker's armor as well as his elbows. His gauntlets were clawed like before and though he didn't sport a cape, he had a transparent tattered cloak that flowed with the wind. The entire front of the armor, from his chest to his abdomen, was as if his body was bare. It was like he was wearing armor that was as flexible as skin though it wasn't. Like his helmet, tribal lines were apparent in the same places his family brands were. Also, the family brands, were slightly raised and glinted in the sunlight, their edges sharp enough to deal injury.

 **"Lygon,"** Ryker spoke as they noticed the mouth of his helmet moved with his own though showing nothing whenever the mouth opened, **"I give you one more chance. Call off your army and leave us be. There doesn't have to be any bloodshed."**

"HA! As if! You, ALL of you, are going to die today for the sake of the world. I will protect the world from unholy invaders. The power will be mine... " Lygon replied as his aura showed more corruption as did some of his troops.

What happened next occurred too fast for most of them to comprehend. Lygon opened his mouth and fired a blast of Corruption, no longer Light, at Aurora's maim group. They were all too shocked of the display to react properly. Fortunately, Ryker appeared in front of them and grunted as he took the attack, his armor smoking though otherwise, he was fine and unfazed without a scratch.

 **"Very well,"** Ryker growled as he opened his hands, **"You capture innocent beings for your clouded judgement of those of the Darkness. You dare to threaten and attack my family...You will not leave here alive."**

Ryker summoned his swords though they too were different from the last time anyone saw them. They were completely **black,** the Twilight Gems replaced with the same gems on his armor. However, that was not the only change but rather, the least notable change. The guards and hints of the swords were changed as well. The guards resembled fangs, two large ones were curled up and made up the top half of the guard. Two more though smaller fangs were curled up behind the larger two. There were two more fangs, though angled not curved, sprouted from the hills of the swords. In between them, there were two blades that were about a third of the size of the main blades of Ryker's swords. The second blades were slightly curved and were serrated like the main ones. All in all, Ryker had two dual-ended swords in his hands, both emitted powerful auras.

Ryker suddenly swung one of his swords in a horizontal slash, sending the closest enemies sprawling to the ground and knocking some of the aerial troops put of the sky. He then looked at Vulcan who trembled at the gaze of his brother.

 **"Help the others fend off the rest of the army. Only kill the corrupted though do not hesitate to incapacitate the noncorrupted if they prove to be difficult. I will handle Lygon, do not send in anyone to aid me."** Ryker ordered.

Vulcan let out a small whine of submission before nodding, relaxing when Ryker walked away. He then growled and looked at the others, nodding and receiving nods in return.

At that, the battle resumed and more blood was spilled.

 **With Vulcan and Aurora**

Aurora and Vulcan stood back to back, fending off more enemies though most of them were already corrupted. The small percentile of them were still of Light so the two mostly had to severely maim or kill most of the time. Though it was an unwanted option, they both knew what they had to do if they were to make it out of there alive and out of Lygon's clutches.

Aurora shot an arrow into the throat of a corrupted troop, spraying blood and painting the ground below him red. Another troop ran passed him but slipped on the already growing puddle of blood, landing on the fallen soldier's sword and skewering himself. Aurora then ducked as the blade of a spear passed her head, luckily missing Vulcan who turned and slashed at the spearman. The spearman fell unmoving and Vulcan followed through with a torrent of fire at an incoming mob. They flailed about and Aurora quickly thanked Vulcan for his aid to which he only nodded in response.

Aurora sent another arrow into the stomach of another troop, pinning him to the tree behind him. The troop tried with futility to pull it out of his stomach, the act only making him bleed even more. Finally, he fell limp as the base of the tree became completely soaked with his blood. Aurora frowned as she turned to fire another arrow in the opposite direction, dispatching the corrupted troop and the troop behind him as the arrow overpenetrated the first's neck.

 _All of this could've been avoided..._ she thought as she took another stance, her bow suddenly in its blade form.

Aurora slashed at an incoming troop, catching him across the chest then immediately turned around. The act resulted in her other blade severing the heads of two more troops behind her who were caught completely off guard. Aurora then took one of her blades and threw it, dispatching two more corrupted before it boomeranged back to her hand. More troops closed in on her, all corrupted and eyes full of malice. Aurora found that it would not be wise to take them all in one by one so she suddenly extended the bowstring from both blades. The troops didn't have time to react as she swung both blades in a large arc, severing their bodies with chilling accuracy.

Vulcan headbutted a nervous troop, giving the poor guard a concussion though Vulcan thought nothing of it.

 _At least I didn't need to kill him._ he thought though scowled as he batted his paw at a corrupted guard.

The guard was thrown into a nearby tree which split into two, the ends falling on more of Lygon's troops though barely missing Vulcan's own allies. With a quick apology, he bathed a large area in front of him in flames. Those caught in it quickly dropped their weapons and rolled back and forth on the ground, trying to put out the fire on their bodies. Vulcan then took a moment to think to himself, looking over at his brother and Ligon. The two were engaged in a silent staredown, their expressions unreadable and their bodies unwavering. Vulcan, however, was more focused on Ryker who seemed... different from before.

 _Brother... Why is it that I feel terrified of you right now?_ Vulcan thought, finding that he was more scared of Ryker more than ever but knew his brother would do anything to protect them.

Vulcan returned to fighting and growled as he summoned six blades of his blood, shocking all onlookers. He snarled as he made his way through the mobs of troops, cutting them down and decapitating the corrupted. Vulcan thought his Core Malevolence was unique in a way. He heard stories of other Fenrir in the past with the power to summon their ancient ancestors to fight for them or another common one, the ability to not feel pain for a certain time span. Though Core Malevolence was extremely rare, most of the Fenrir who had it harnessed the power of limited invulnerability. However, not once there was another Fenrir with the power to summon and manipulate blood like Vulcan.

Vulcan's blades were now larger and sharper, their victims' blood had increased their power by some levels. Vulcan turned around to see non-corrupted troops, all of them shaking in fear and their faces showed extreme anxiety. They all began to reconsider the situation, remembering that Vulcan didn't need to kill them of they didn't resist. The troops dropped their weapons and raised their hands or paws in a submissive gesture, making Vulcan nod in response as they found somewhere to stay out of the fight.

 **With Draken and Saphira...**

Draken fired a blast of purple flames into the guard's face, making the corrupted one scream out as his flesh began to sag and melt. He then growled and swiped the guard away, sending him screaming and into another. Draken then stopped and turned to the sound of his mother snarling, finding her on her back with some blood seeping from a wound on her legs. Saphira was surrounded by a large group of corrupted and they all began to move in with their spears. Draken flew over to her as he put two and two together, figuring that they most likely attacked her legs and caused her to fall over.

Draken flew past the guards, landing next to Saphira with his claws dripping with blood. At that moment, the surrounding guards fell to the ground with blood spraying from their necks, the gashes long and deep.

 _Thank you, Drakey._ Saphira told her son as he helped her up.

 _Mo-oooom,_ Draken whined as she giggled, _I swear, you and Luna get along so very well._

 _Is that a bad thing?_ Saphira asked as she batted a guard away with her tail. She then ducked as a sword arced over her head then smiled as Draken jumped over her and barreled into her attacker, tearing out the guard's throat as he landed.

 _No, but just because she gives me a nickname doesn't mean you have to call me that too._ Draken continued to whine as he turned around and gave her a look.

Saphira rushed passed him and pounced on a soldier that tried to sneak up on her son. She found that he wasn't corrupted so she simply knocked him out w9th a claw to the beak. She turned around and gave Draken a smug look, earning another look from Draken as he stood up on his hind legs and crossed his fore legs, resembling a crossed gesture.

 _And why not? It's a cute nickname._ Saphira responded, wondering how could Draken stand on his hang legs like he did. She never understood how to do so herself, she would always lose balance. She also knew that some of the dragons from the Realms could do that as well and it only heightened her curiosity.

Draken averted his gaze and blushed though she couldn't see it under his scales. He returned to all-fours and turned around to avoid seeing her would-be expression. Draken considered whether or not he should tell her. Then again, why not? He could trust her. He's his mother! Draken turned back around to see a confused Saphira, her expression somehow making Draken nervous all of a sudden.

 _Well, that's her "unique" nickname for me since we're mates. No one else calls me that besides you... Two.. she calls me that in our..._

Saphira came up to him and nudged him, really interested even more so than before. When he reminded silent, she continued to poke him over and over again in an attempt to annoy him and hopefully make him give in to answer her. She didn't want to use the "I am your mother you will obey me." route, she never used it before as he was a great son and he never gave her any problems as a drake.

 _Tell me-eeeee._ she whined, poking him faster and with more pressure now.

 _Shecallsmethatinourintimatemoments._ Draken answered, bis blood now rising and his embarrassment as well.

Saphira blushed as well and became silent, ignoring the advancing troops behind them. She then surprised them all by falling to her side and laughing, making Draken hide his face from her in an annoyed fashion. The troops, all non-corrupted, didn't know what to do at that moment. They were confused as to why she was laughing.

 _Oh, ancestors! Arceus and God!_ That's hilarious! Saphira roared, her fit of laughter slowly began to dim though was still high.

Draken groaned and began to bash his head into the ground repeatedly, making the troops even more confused. Draken continued to do so and the dry ground began to crack with the force of his bashing. Saphira's laughter began to die and she got back up on her feet and turned to the troops, giving them an apologetic smile.

 _I'm sorry, my son is dealing with some sexual pet-names and I'm giving him a hard time for it._ Saphira told them as Draken began hitting his head even harder though not nearly enough to give himself any injury as dragon bodies are very enduring, their bones hard as diamonds.

 _Mo-o-o-o-om!_ Draken whined again in between hits.

One of the soldiers turned to the rest of her group and gave them an unsure look, looking back between the two Drakengards and themselves.

"This is too weird. Let's leave them alone, they seem like good people. Who's up for retirement?" she announced, receiving nods of agreements as well as "Ayes" from her group.

They took off as Draken ceased hitting himself and looked at his mother. Saphira, a smile apparent, couldn't help herself and began to laugh again, even harder than before. Draken groaned and clamped onto her tail, dragging Saphira over to another part of the battlefield where they couldn't do anything but to fight. It would be enough to prevent her from laughing... or so he hoped..

 **With Ragna and Lunalesse...**

Ragna turned to Lunalesse as he saw his mate and son walk away to another area. He nudged Lunalesse who gave him a questioning expression, knocking out another guard at the same time.

 _"Drakey?"_ Ragna asked though in monotone.

Lunalesse blushed then suddenly became expressionless, turning back around to fight off more troops. Ragna did the same and the two remained silent for a while, the awkward air between them growing with each passing second of their silence.

 **Sora, Ash, and Rasha's children...**

Sora twirled his Keyblade and deflected some projectiles, sending them back to their owners as he heard moans of pain. He then leaned on his Keyblade, exhaustion quickly taking over his body. Sora shook his head, remembering why he was fighting. _I can't stop now. We got to end this battle. For Aurora and for Alpha._ he thought as an orb appeared in front of him.

Sora nodded to himself before reaching out and touching the orb, absorbing it. He then yelled out as a bright glow enveloped his body. When it died down, it revealed Sora in his **Final Form** , a special Drive Form combat style that only Keyblade wielders can use. Sora's clothes turned from black and red to a glowing silver. Floating to his left was his Keyblade, Two Become One. Floating to his left but upside down was his one of his many other Keyblades, the standard Kingdom Key. They were both, including Sora himself, floating and spun by themselves in slow circles. Sora looked at the enemies before him and smirked, charging and dealing many devastating combos and such.

Ash saw Sora's impressive display and frowned, not approving of the fact the at the Keyblade wielder was doing a lot more work than he was for some reason. Ash looked at Pikachu and they nodded to each other, both sporting a wide grin. Pikachu all of a sudden charged up all the electricity he can muster and sent it into Ash who amazingly didn't get shocked at all. Instead, he reappeared on the other side of any enemies, all of them soon falling afterwards due to slash wounds on their bodies. Ash smirked once more before doing the same with more of Lygon's troops, his sudden burst of lightning speed proved to be very challenging for the opponents.

Ash made his way to the three children, giving them a small wave before running off again. Aero shook his head with a laugh before clawing at a charging soldier.

 _Such a showoff._ Violet remarked as she swiped at her enemy.

 _Not as bad as Sora is._ Scarlett replied though she was grazed by a sword due to being distracted.

 _The point is they both are, guys._ Aero told them as he fended off three guards, all equipped with curved swords.

 **With Spyro, Gray, and Grace...**

"So," Spyro said as he sent a stream of lightning at a corrupted soldier, "is the guy who flew out the tower the one we're here for?" He then blasted a group of soldiers back with Earth, sending them sprawling.

"Yep," Grace answered as she punched a heavy-set soldier, he too sent flying back with a trail of blood spurting from her nose. Her physical abilities were enhanced thanks to the exosuit and she was loving it. "He's our leader, our Alpha. Believe me when I say this, he's a great guy but he does lack a little in socialization and he loves to be blunt."

"Sweet, can't wait to introduce myself to him." Spyro responded as he released a Fire Fury, all surrounding enemies save for Grace and Gray as well as the un-corrupted burned to ashes.

Gray sneezed and looked over at Grace who marveled at Spyro's attack. "Hey Grace, I haven't spotted Jenna anywhere. Where is she?"

"Back at home with Aleu, Balto told her to stay since it would be too dangerous." Grace replied.

"Ah, makes sense. Hey Spyro, you think you can teach me how to do what you just did?"

Spyro chuckled and shook his head. He then patted Gray's shoulder and gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry, bud, only us dragons from the Realms can do it as far as I know. Plus, you don't have any Elemental energy to do so. But, if you learn any of the Elements, or something similar to them at least, I can help you produce a move that is the same or similar."

Gray nodded and sneezed again, the ash around him swirled and he backed up in case some of it landed on his nose again. He then looked over at Ryker who began to walk towards Lygon, his swords dragging across the ground and setting it ablaze.

 _Looks like it's about to go down._ he thought as the other two noticed as well.

At this, more and more troops, both Lygon's and Aurora's, stopped to see the two powerful leaders circle each other. Ryker and Lygon's were silent as was the the entire area. Lygon noticed the lack of fighting and growled, scanning the area.

"Who told you to stop?! Fight!" he shouted though everyone simply looked at each other, finding that the fight between Lygon and The Alpha was more important, it would most likely be historical as well.

The non-corrupted stopped because they didn't want to fight an unnecessary battle. They too thought Lygon was wrong in many ways about those of Darkness, but, they were too afraid to voice it. Just telling him may result in them being arrested as well, or worse. The most of the corrupted troops only stopped because they wanted to see their leader take down his enemy. The rest of the corrupted were just either afraid of dying or just didn't care about the battle and found that the battle between Ryker and Lygon would be entertaining.

 **"Ignore them, Lygon. Though, I somewhat dislike it as well. I'm not one for attention neither do I like being the center of it. I don't blame them though, it cannot be helped."** Ryker stated though dismissing one of his swords, finding that he should see how he would do with just one first before starting out with two.

Lygon turned back to Ryker and smirked, his expression showed that he was actually excited. "I'm really going to enjoy ridding the world of you." He then charged at Ryker, his claws glinting as the sun shined down upon them.

Ryker sidestepped the Manticore and kneed him in the stomach, making Lygon grunt in pain as he landed. Ryker then followed through with an axekick though Lygon rolled out of the way, avoiding the attack by mere inches. Lygon got in a pouncing stance and growled once more, his wings flaring with the action.

"Tell me, Dark One, what are you fighting for? No, tell me _why_ you are fighting. You could just turn tail and run." Lygon asked.

Ryker suddenly charged forward and punched Lygon in the nose, breaking it and causing Lygon to yell out before quickly swiping Ryker to the ground. Ryker quickly got up and dusted himself off, eyeing his family and allies.

 **"I fight for my family and friends. What of it? I don't find it revelant to what we're doing."** Ryker replied, receiving smiles from those he mentioned.

Lygon laughed and shook his head, actually looking like he was about to spill tears of disbelief. He mockingly wiped an invisible tear from his eyes and gave Ryker a knowing look. "Nonsense. You brainwashed them. Besides, who in the world would be idiotic enough to befriend a monster such as yourself?"

Aurora and the others wanted to growl and we're about to voice their disagreement but Ryker subtly waved his free hand, Stopping them from doing so. Ryker then smiled and inspected his sword, turning it over and back. **"I never brainwashed anyone before. You know, I never thought I was possible either for me to befriend anyone. You see, the first friend I ever made came to me when I was but a child. I didn't trust him at first but with time, we treated each other like brothers. We still do now. In fact, he's here right now, along with my many other friends and family, fighting for me. Some time ago, I realized that there are many of those of the pure-hearted... or at least somewhat, that would look pass everything dark and unsettling about me just to keep me around and make me feel that I'm not a monster... Sadly, the fact that I am will never change. But, that doesn't mean I can't be an ally, friend, a brother, and in a certain someone's case, a lover to...That too, will never, EVER, change. Now, enough talk. You kept me locked up for three years and I want to end this so that I can catch up with those I miss."**

Lygon narrowed his eyes as Ryker made a step towards him. Lygon then leapt, aiming for Ryker's neck. However, Ryker had already jumped and was too fast for Lygon. Ryker jabbed at one of Lygon's wings, tearing the membrane with an audible rip. Lygon cried out in fury as he landed, taking a quick glance at his wing before returning his attention to Ryker.

"Bastard. You will pay for that." Lygon growled as he suddenly lunged forward, his sudden burst of speed catching Ryker off guard. His claws connected with Ryker's abdomen and though the Fenrir's armor was extremely durable, it was still not enough for the powerful Manticore's claws. The attack sent Ryker back several feet, a fair amount of blood trailed from him. Ryker took a quick look at his wound, cauterizing it before running towards Lygon who was surprised at the former's method of tending to the wound. Lygon sent blasts of Corrupted Light at Ryker who evaded them all, he had zigzagged across the ground and the maneuver was enough for him to reach Lygon unscathed.

Ryker swung his sword at one of Lygon's legs. The Manticore barely avoided it and sent the sword to the ground, pinning it with his paw. He quickly retracted it in pain though as his paw suddenly ignited, Ryker recovered his sword and Lygon gave him a look of hatred. Ryker simply blinked and opened his mouth, sending terrifying hellfire at Lygon who couldn't avoid it since he was too close. Ryker managed to burn Lygon's left side including some of his face. Lygon howled in agony for a moment before rushing at Ryker with a yell. He connected and the two were sent tumbling across the ground and when they stopped, Lygon was the one pinning Ryker.

Lygon opened his mouth and fiercely clamped onto Ryker's left arm, intending to crush it. Ryker grunted in pain and in retaliation, punched Lygon several times with his free hand. Though his punches were painful and bruising, Lygon refused to let go. Blood from Ryker's arm started to soak the ground underneath them, the sight horrifying Aurora and the group.

 _Ryker!_ Aurora worried with a pleading tone.

Ryker shook his head, not wanting Aurora to get in on his battle with Lygon. Gathering his strength, Ryker kicked Lygon in the gut and caused the Manticore to double over in pain. Ryker then reached up and pulled Lygon's head to meet the Fenrir's knee. Ryker did it twice more before releasing Lygon and rolling over, getting to his feet as he held his bleeding arm. After he tended to it, he threw his sword to his other hand and prepared himself, Lygon finally turning around with blood coating his face.

Lygon suddenly roared, the shockwave that emitted from it ruptured at Ryker's ears. Said Fenrir fell to a knee and held his ears in pain, yelling out in pain as the same crashing noise sounded again and again in his ears. Lygon took this opportunity and knocked Ryker into the ground with his tail, stabbing and paralyzing him with his scorpion tail afterwards.

"You see, Fenrir," Lygon stated as he stomped on Ryker who could only grunt in pain, "no prisoner of mine ever escaped me neither has there ever been one to defeat me in battle. Do you think you have what it takes to win? I don't think so." Lygon then continued to stomp on Ryker over and over again, Ryker began coughing up blood due to the simple yet brutal action.

Lygon then lifted Ryker and threw him into the sky, taking to the sky himself after flaring his wings. Lygon caught up with Ryker in the air and repeated fly in a cross pattern, slashing at Ryker with each pass. Lygon then shot several balls of Corrupted Light at Ryker which caused the Fenrir to recoil in pain as if the attacks burned him. Lygon then finished his attack by batting Ryker to the ground below, sending another ball of Corrupted Light at him which exploded at contact.

Ryker slowly got up from the ground, his paralysis worn off. He jumped back as Lygon landed in front of him though was still caught by the Manticore. Lygon laughed as he pulled Ryker overhead and threw him but his attack didn't go as plan. Still holding onto to Lygon's paw, Ryker used the momentum and pulled as hard as he could. He succeeded and reversed Lygon's move, throwing the Manticore instead of being thrown himself. Lygon landed with a heavy crash at that moment, Ryker summoned both swords. When Lygon got up to his feet, Ryker charged and made several slashes to the Manticore's back. Not letting up, Ryker resumed his deadly attack by pivoting to Lygon's front and made several jabs to the sides. Lygon took a few steps back, groaning in pain as Ryker jumped onto the large beast's back, looping off an entire wing before jumping back onto the ground.

"My wing! DAMN YOU!" Lygon exclaimed as he took his detached wing and threw it at Ryker.

Ryker did not expect that attack and barely ducked in time. He stuck out a hand and the wing twirled, following Ryker's hand until he threw it back at Lygon. Lygon gasped before the wing connected with his head, making him dazed. Ryker took the chance and ran up to Lygon, kicking him in the face. The attack sent Lygon to the right a little, the force of the kick was enough to do so. Lygon slowly turned his head to the left, small popping noses could be heard from his neck as he did so. He then roared again, aiming to deafen Ryker once more with the shockwave. Ryker covered his ears though he didn't do so with his hands, he simply used his canine-like movement and his ears simply pulled back, blocking out noise. The move surprised Lygon but he didn't have to time react as Ryker threw his sword at him, piercing Lygon's chest though missing the heart.

Lygon screamed as his chest started to burn away, he wanted to pull out the sword but he knew doing so would damage him even more since it had serrated edges as well as having the ability to burn him on contact. However, Lygon wasn't going to be deterred by the complication. He yelled out in rage as he charged at Ryker who summoned his sword to his hand, swinging it at Lygon once the Manticore got close enough. Unfortunately, Lygon stepped back at the last moment, countering by clawing up across Ryker's other arm, succeeding in injuring both arms. Ryker gritted his teeth and growled as he dropped his sword. He warped behind Lygon and delivered a swift but powerful kick to in between Lygon's shoulder blades, paralyzing Lygon's remaining wing. Ryker then delivered a similar kick to a certain area to the base of Lygon's tail, paralyzing the large limb as well. Lygon turned around somewhat in a dazed matter, his limp extremities rendered him off-balance due to him being unused to the limp weight.

Ryker, both arms somewhat working again, leaned on his sword in fatigue. He knew that Ligon would be a formidable opponent as the Manticore's power used to be on par with his own. Used to be..

"Don't think this is over." Lygon snarled as he suddenly bowled into Ryker, pinning him to the ground. Lygon reared his head back and bit at Ryker's leg, tearing out the armor then the flesh. Ryker yelled out in pain but that only encouraged Lygon even further. Lygon redirected his attention to Ryker's other leg and did the same. Ryker groaned as Lygon got off of him, the Manticore smirking in triumph.

"What did I tell you? You failed the moment you broke free of your chains." Lygon said with a sneer. He then looked at Ryker's sword, getting an idea. Lygon grabbed it, the flames were immensely painful but Lygon did his best to ignore it. He then drove the sword through Ryker's stomach, pinning the Fenrir to the ground.

Ryker screamed out in pain as the serrated edges tore pass his flesh, ripping whatever Lygon drove it through and causing extra bleeding.

"NO-OOOO!" Aurora cried put as Lygon chuckled, he drove the sword deeper and deeper with each passing second. Aurora shook her head with horror as another spray of blood erupted from Ryker's abdomen. She heard every tear and every groan that escaped Ryker's lips. She looked at Vulcan and the others, all of them wanting to jump in and help but knew Ryker wouldn't want them to. This was his battle and he didn't want them to further involve themselves and possibly get hurt.

Aurora returned to looking at Ryker who stole a quick glance at her. His expression told her to trust him but she knew he couldn't hold out for much longer at this rate.

 **He's going to die.**

Aurora lowered her head, tears threaten to spill from her eyes. However, they didn't fall as she didn't want to show weakness in the battlefield.

 **Lygon will win if we don't do anything.**

Aurora flinched as she heard Ryker scream out as Lygon sent another blast of Corrupted Light, the attack almost caused Ryker to go numb. Aurora looked up, seeing Ryker trying to pull his sword out of his stomach with difficulty.

 **Ryker will die...I need to help! I will come home with Ryker! WE WILL BOTH MAKE IT OUT OF HERE!**

"LYGO-OOOOOOOOON!" she roared as a bright light enveloped her body. The glow blinded everyone who looked, those of the Darkness looked backed away in fear of being hurt in some way.

Aniu and the others couldn't believe it. Aurora couldn't be evolving again, could she? Aurora told them she had already reached her final evolution! If so, what was happening now? She was definitely doing something and the result would definitely be a surprise to everyone.

 **With Jeanne, Darko, and all other Legendaries...**

All of the Legendaries gasped as they witness what was happening on the battlefield. Jeanne simply smiled, incredibly proud of Aurora though somewhat surprised herself. In fact, she nearly forgot what would be the result in a few moments.

 _I nearly forgot,_ she announced to the lot of them, _the last time this happened was nigh a few centuries ago. I am proud to present to you all, someone who has endured all the requisite trials. Someone who is no longer an Islingr Suicune but something else entirely. Someone whose species name means "bright", "clear", and "radiant."_

The Legendaries shifted, somewhat surprised and eager to hear what Jeanne would say next. Jeanne turned to the orb, the glow coming from Aurora dying down with a small shockwave. Everyone, both of the Legendaries and those on the battlefield, gasped, their eyes wide and their jaws hanging. No one seemed to expect what had just occurred.

 _Ladies and gentlemen,_ Jeanne announced with a smile, _I give you the first of her kind in a few centuries, Lady North of the-_

 **Back with Ryker and the group...**

 **"-Akirari, the fabled guardian of Light and unrivaled maiden of water as well as ice... Amazing."** Ryker gasped, he himself extremely surprised by Aurora's transformation.

Login could only gasp as he was suddenly tackled to the ground by a glowing white blur, groaning as he got up and took another look at the former Islingr Suicune though now an Akirari.

Aurora no longer her signature crest that represented herself as one of the Suicune. She no longer had the flowing ribbon like tails nor did she had the diamond patterns on her body. Aurora took a quick look at herself. Her fur was completely white save for the wave-like patterns on her sides which were a Depp royal blue. Her underside was blue as well and ended in a small plumage of fur on her chest. Around her ankles were small spikes of dry ice though she still wore Ryker's gifts, the jewelry added to her already immense beauty. Aurora had two large wings, no longer having feathers though instead, leathery white membranes. Now, as for the bigger changes. Her fur was short though it was somewhat exotic, her body and facial structure slightly resembling that of a wolf. Slightly. Aurora still retained her mane but that too had change. Instead of fur, it was made of dry ice crystals that flowed with the wind. Naturally, it confused mostly everyone who looked. How could dry ice crystals flow fluidly? If one were to look closely, such as Ryker and a few others, some parts of the crystals would melt and in a split second refreeze in a higher or lower position, giving the illusion that the dry ice flowed like hair. Unlike her previous mane, her current mane was trailed from her forehead and around her neck to down her neck, then her back, splitting into two ends that ended a few inches short of her rump. Like before, her claws were an icy translucent blue as well as her four incisor canines. Her fur somewhat stood on end on her shoulders and her knees, somewhat resembling her previous nice spikes in her last evolution. Another big change was that you could actually see her ears, both of them white like the rest of her fur save for their tips which were blue. Another big change, one of the biggest changes, she only had a single tail which resembled that of a wolf's. It hung low to the ground but around it were two spiraled extensions that sprouted from the base. The extensions, as mentioned before, spiraled around her tail and stopped several inches short of then end of her tail. On their edges, small shards of dry ice peppered every two-three spots. They flowed like her previous ribbon tails but the two extentions were still a part of her single tail, again, a huge change. Instead of a crest, Aurora had a small glowing blue teardrop symbol on her forehead. Behind it, was a large four sided star that glowed with Light. Another striking feature, possibly the most noticeable, were her eyes. Her outer iris was a beautiful silver color though the iris was thin, one would have to look closely to see. Then, her inner iris, her wider one as well as being the much more noticeable one, was still a deep sapphire blue. The sclera of her eyes were glowing and normally, Ryker didn't like the color gold at all. However, this is one exception where he found that it compliments her eyes. Lastly, every two seconds, her body would glow blue in certain areas. When she did so, a line would appear from her forehead and trail down to her neck and back as well as her legs. From her forehead, the line would turn blue and the color would spread out to the rest of the lines. Then, Light would border her lines and glow brightly. Afterwards, both glows would dim and disappear before glowing again two seconds later.

Aurora returned her attention to Lygon, her major change wasn't as much as a priority as Lygon and Ryker was for her. She growled, the noise more... wolfish than that of a dog. Lygon regained his composure and growled back at her, both of them radiated with a powerful aura.

"Lady Isl-, no, Lady Akirari, you dare to interfere with my bout with the Fenrir?" Lygon asked as he circled her.

Aurora circled around as well, her growling ceased though she narrowed her eyes at him. "I am here to take him back from you. If it means I have to incapacitate or kill you, then so be it." she replied, shocking everyone and herself. Aurora shook her head, smiling a little before recomposing herself. "Looks like I can talk, I don't have to transform into my other forms to do so."

"Hm. So you can like myself. Don't let it get to your head though. Nothing special." Lygon growled before charging at Aurora.

Aurora simply sidestepped and bit down on Lygon's neck. She growled as Lygon cried out and shook her head. She proceeded to tear out the flesh she had in her mouth, spitting it out with an expression of disgust before turning back to Lygon. Lygon turned around and pounced on her only to to recoil in pain when Aurora ducked then clawed his underside as he passed over. Lygon landed in a tumble and had to take several deep breaths before getting up. However, he was quickly returned to the ground as Aurora bashed the back of his head with a paw.

"That was for taking him from us." she started, waiting as he got up. She then sent a powerful ball of Light infused with ice to his stomach, making him curl up on the ground and howl in pain. "That was for Nyx, neither her nor Ryker deserved to be arrested by you." She then stomped on his back and pulled him back by his main, Aurora had to resist spitting out his hair as she held him. She then growled and tore out some of his mane, Lygon screaming out as small spots of his scalp can be seen if one were to look. "That was for all of those you took away, those who didn't do a single thing that would label them as evil or" unholy" by you. You are a very corrupted being, Lygon, and your thirst for power does not bode well for the good of the world."

"Corrupted?" Lygon gasped with a laugh though he winced at the action, his underside started to hurt with every inhale. "Is that how you all see me? Fools! Do you not see? I am ridding the world of all threats! No Darkness means no evil! Why, I don't know why Lady Arceus hasn't allowed me to capture ALL Dark and Ghost type pokémon and creatures."

"Because not all of them are evil, just because one is evil and menacing doesn't mean everyone else is. That's what you have to understand, Lygon, you're basically a racist!" Aurora retorted.

Lygon had to resist from laughing for a second before giving Aurora another sneer. He shook his head and turned his head to Ryker who responded with a calm stare. "What YOU have to understand is that I. Don't. Care. It is much easier to get rid of them all. There's no point risking a chance for one of them to rise and stab me in the back. No, no. Better not to risk it." he explained with a smirk.

Everyone could only stare in shock at Lygon's horrifying words. Many growled at the outrageous statement while others began to spew harsh comments at him. Ryker and Vulcan were disgusted but the former didn't show it rather than the latter who growled with fury.

 **"That's an incredibly deplorable statement, Lygon. I advise you to reconsider what you had just said before continuing any further. There's many here who would like to voice or even show their disagreement to you."** Ryker stated.

Lygon took a look around him, finding angry glares and expressions including some gestures from both those of Light and Dark. Even his troops were angry with him. He then looked over at those who were freed from the Beacon, all of them either growling, yelling, or glaring at him. Lygon returned his attention to Aurora and gave a shrug, further angering those around him.

"And? Who am I, someone who is incredibly superior to all of these infidels, care at all?" Lygon spat.

The moment he finished his last syllable, Aurora suddenly tackled him, earning a few cheers from the onlookers. Aurora then proceeded to mercilessly envelop him in a barrage of ice attacks, freezing certain parts of his body and then blasting him away with beams of Light. She then followed through with a bat of the wing to Lygon, sending him into the sky. Aurora flew up next to him and mocked him, doing the same move he had done to Ryker not too long ago. Them, she summoned a large spear of ice which sprouted from the ground. Aurora sent Lygon towards it, impaling him on the ice spear and spraying more blood onto the ground.

Lygon could only open his mouth, a silent scream apparent and his eyes were clenched tight in pain. Aurora landed next to him, unrelenting as she batted him away, breaking him off of the ice spear though sending him tumbling away by several feet. Lygon groaned, a small spurt of blood escaped his lips as well as from his side. Lygon then growled, healing his major wounds shut though still weakened from Aurora's barrage of attacks. He removed the remaining part of the ice spear from his side, hissing in pain as the dry ice burned his flesh.

"Stop now, Lygon. Stop while you still can." Aurora advised, still willing to spare the Manticore's life. However, another growl sounded from Lygon who suddenly tackled her, sending her onto her side. He then summoned a small golden orb, it pulsed and small sparks of energy cracked. Aurora paled as she figured out what it was, shaking her head in denial though it was too late.

"Submit." Lygon commanded, the orb glowing as he did so. The orb pulsed and sent a ring which expanded throughout the battlefield. All those of Light suddenly cried out as sparks of energy surrounded them. They all then lowered themselves, ending up in a bowing position to Lygon. Aurora growled as she tried to fight through the orb's power but found that she couldn't, the orb made Lygon's power over those of Light absolute. Those of the Dark screamed out in pain, finding themselves cowering before the orb of Light. All save for Ryker who growled in pain though keeping his eyes on Aurora and Lygon.

Lygon held the Orb of Valhalla, an extremely ancient artifact which controls any surrounding creatures of Light with a spoken command. Aurora and those who were forced to submit couldn't fight against it, the orb's influence overwhelmed their will. The orb continued to pulse and with each pulse, cracks of energy sparked around those of Light on the battlefield though those of the Dark only screamed in pain. Lygon laughed maniacally, letting go of the orb which floated next to him.

"How do you like that? A handy thing, isn't it? With this, I control both sides. Foolproof. This works even more efficiently than the Eye! With this, no one can stop me. Not even the Legendaries." Lygon announced with another laugh.

 **With Jeanne and the Legendaries...**

 _Is this true, Milady?_ Celebi asked Jeanne.

Jeanne nodded grimly and sighed, shaking her head and giving Lygon a glare from the large scrying orb. _Indeed it is. With that orb, Lygon will have control over both Light and Dark beings. Most of us here are infused with Light to serve the world. The few of us of the Dark would only cower before the orb which deals excruciating pain to said Dark beings. I never expected Lygon to resort to using the Orb, I didn't think he would end up corrupted. That was the reason why I entrusted him with it. However, I was obviously mistaken and even now, if I or Lord Arceus were to interfere, we would only suffer the same fate as those on the battlefield._

Her explanation resulted in a grim and depressing silence, not a single Legendary wanted to add an input neither did they want to even be there. Lygon must be stopped but all hope seemed to disappear within seconds. What could they do? What could they do...

 **Back at the battlefield...**

Lygon walked towards Aurora, loving the submissive position she was in. Though she was only laying completely on her stomach with her tail drooping, the position made him last for her and caused him to lick his lips in anticipation. "You know, I can agree with one thing out of all of this." Lygon stated. Lygon trailed his claw across Aurora's shoulder to down her back, making her shiver in fear and alarm. He then stopped behind her, lifting her tail to peek at her behind.

"You pig! Leave me be!" Aurora shouted in alarm, her eyes wide and her tone absolutely outraged.

"Lygon, damn you! Take your goddamn claws off of her! Are you really that disgusting of a fucking being of Light?! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Vulcan shouted, surfing some others with his use of language though they quickly refocused on Lygon and Aurora.

Many tried to break free of their invisible bonds but found that they couldn't do so. The Orb would flash with their every attempt, causing them pain and return to their submissive position. Those who didn't even move got hurt as well, the Orb seemed to be punishing all for resistance.

"You blooming cunt! LEAVE HER ALONE YOU MOTHERFUCKING SLOB OF PIGSHIT YOU SORRY EXCUSE OF ONE OF LIGHT! LEAVE HER ALONE YOU FUCKER!" Nyx shouted, tears falling from his eyes.

Lygon lifted Aurora's hind half of her body, taking in a whiff of her scent. He then looked hungrily at her womanhood, frowning when he found that she was not aroused though he thought that would change quickly. "You know," Lygon started, "I am the last of my species. Why don't we help each other out? I'm sure our offspring will be powerful and they'll turn out to be children you will absolutely love."

"Im not bearing any of your children, you sick bastard! I'LL TEAR OUT MY OWN DAMN OVARIES IF I HAVE TO JUST TO PREVEMT THAT FROM HAPPENING!" Aurora snarled, tears falling from her eyes though she was absolutely furious.

Lygon slapped her on the rump, making her and many others cry out in an outrage. He then shook his head, as if chiding her for talking back to him. "Ah, ah, ah, one more word like that and I'll go after the children of all of you." Lygon warned.

His warning caused Aurora and the rest of them to fall silent, all of them horrified and disbelieving of the situation before them. Lygon sniffed Aurora once more, inching his face closer to her privates which were hidden from the view of everyone else there.

 **"Stop."**

Lygon froze and turned to see Ryker who began to growl, shadows and flames erupted into existence around him as he began to pull out the sword from his stomach. "Like you have the power to stop me, dog!" Lygon shot back.

Ryker groaned inwardly as he felt the Orb sent pain throughout his body. However, he continued to resist against the Orb and felt his body begin to give up on him. The thought of Aurora being taken from Lygon entered his mind and Ryker continued to try with all of his might, feeling something within him snap. **"Unhand her and I promise you, you will lose no more than all of your limbs."** Ryker warned once more, his sword finally removed though he still appeared weak to Lygon, which was understandable since Ryker was crawling to his feet.

Lygon smirked and smacked Aurora once more, making her cry out in pain as he hit her with an incredible amount of force. "I heard from this one that your name is Ryker, correct? I'll be sure to remember that when I think of this victorious day in the future." Lygon stayed as he stuck out a tongue, ready to drag it across Aurora's lower lips.

 **"I know you will, for it will be etched into your tombstone."**

Lygon was suddenly thrown back into a nearby cliff wall, the sound of his bones cracking and such sounded throughout the battlefield. He ended up creating a large cave within the cliffside though it didn't last long as the rock all around collapsed, crashing down on him and sending up clouds of dust. When the dust cleared, it revealed a closed off cave though soon afterwards, Lygon's roar could be heard as he bashed through the blockage, snarling as he shook of the debris. He looked to where he was previously standing, paling once he saw who had sent him into the cliffside just moments before.

There, standing protectively beside Aurora, was Ryker in his **Natural Form.** However, his form was obscured by a veil of shadows and they could only see his outline. Though they could not see detail, they all, including Aurora, were incredibly intimidated of The Alpha who began growled with fury. They saw that he stood a couple heads taller than Lygon, his aura was pressuring them and forcing them to cower before him.

Next thing they knew, the Orb next to Lygon was split into two, causing a small explosion that sent Lygon flying. Ryker reappeared above of the skyrocketing Manticore and growled, clawing Lygon several times before sending the mix of creatures to the ground. He then landed atop of Lygon and bit down on one of Lygon's legs, tearing it away in a single motion. Flesh tore and blood painted the ground as Ryker dropped the limp limb, Lygon screaming out in agony and flailing. The Manticore rolled to his remaining three feet and sent a blast of Corrupted Light at Ryker who simply took the attack, the Alpha's blood sprayed the ground though he didn't seem fazed. Ryker slowly stepped towards Lygon who limped back, sending blast after blast after Corrupted Light at Ryker who reacted the same as before, he took the attacks unflinching and didn't care to tend to his newest wounds. Ryker suddenly stopped, reappearing behind Lygon and biting down at the Manticore's shoulder. Lygon cried out again though he was quickly upped in intensity as Ryker took the Manticore's jaw in his claws and pulled, tears g out Lygon's lower jaw. Lygon let out a bloodcurdling scream, the others began to shake in fear of Ryker as the Fenrir sent Lygon crashing away with a bat of the paw.

Ryker dropped the torn lower jaw and stepped over it, the large mass of flesh and bones burning to nothing within the next second. It was then that Aurora noticed what had changed about Ryker other than the color of his flames and shadows.

 _His fire... When it burns, it doesn't melt the flesh. It-It... It's like it's ERASING the flesh from existence. Same goes for his shadows. Whenever they cut or make contact with the body, whatever it had contact with is gone within a split second. What kind of power is this?!_ she thought, trying to fight her fear of her lover.

Lygon crawled away as fast as he can from Ryker who was approaching slowly without a rush. Lygon heard The Alpha's every step, he heard the ground that singed underneath Ryker's paws as well as the blades of grass which were cut away from existence from Ryker's shadows. Absolute fear. That emotion alone was what everyone there was experiencing. Lygon turned around to try and take a closer look at The Alpha though could only spot Ryker's eyes, shivering as they seemed to pierce Lygon's soul.

"L-L-Look, we can talk this out, right? I admit it! I was acting foolish and was extremely arrogant! I surrender and I apologize to all of you! You'll never see me again!" Lygon pleaded, suddenly yelling out in pain as Ryker severed the Manticore's tongue from his mouth.

 **"I grow weary at your useless babbling. Best save your breath for your prayers for you shall need them for the afterlife."** Ryker growled as he came closer and closer. He then coughed out a small amount of blood, his canine throat not made for talking at all. However, with a few words, he massaged his throat and they all got the feeling that he could now talk like Aurora and Lygon can as well as the dragons from the Realms.

Lygon screamed in absolute fear, now hopping away as fast as he could whilst flapping his remaining wing to propel himself forward. He ended up tripping and landed face-first to the ground, spraying more blood from his broken nose. At that moment, he cried out as he felt his other hind leg being slowly torn away, a third sounding behind him after the tearing finished. Lygon turned to see Ryker sweeping the severed leg away with his paws, his expression could be seen as calm and cold under his cover of **Darkness.** Ryker reached for Lygon's fore legs only for Lygon to crawl away with futility. The Fenrir stood there as Lygon pathetically tried to crawl away. All onlookers wanted to look away bit found that they couldn't, as if they were fearing that if they took their eyes away from the sight, The Alpha would be upon them in a flash.

"I-o-i-le!" Lygon slurred as blood continued to flood his mouth, "I ehh ie! O - ie - ou! O - ie - ou! Ieh i-o-i-le!" (Impossible! I can't die by you! Not by you! It's impossible!) Lygon continued to crawl and Ryker simply followed, the sound of his steps beginning to haunt Lygon. Lygon crawled all the way to where the entrance of the Beacon used to be, a large trail of blood followed in his wake. He turned around once more, finding that Ryker was already upon him.

"M-M-Mer-y!" (M-M-Mercy!) Lygon pleaded, hoping for compassion and forgiveness as well as forget.

Ryker stopped, lowering his head to Lygon's eye level. He let out a small growl and narrowed his eyes, scaring Lygon beyond belief. **"'Mercy?' I know not of the word. Perhaps after practicing on you, I may be able to define the word. However, I'm afraid that I might fail."** Ryker said in a cold tone. With that, Ryker to/clamped down on Lygon's fore leg, tearing it out then doing the same with the other. Lygon screamed as loud as he possible could, spurting barely coherent words in begging tones but Ryker wouldn't have it. Ryker then tore out Lygon's remaining wing with a swipe of the claw, flicking his paw and sending the Manticore's blood across the ground.

Ryker wasn't done, he shoved Lygon's limbless body across the ground. Lygon shouted out in agony as he skidded across the land until he finally stopped near the center of the battlefield. Ryker suddenly appeared next to him, his eyes piercing through Lygon's and sending a shiver down everyone's backs.

 **"You should have considered the consequences of threatening my family and friends. You should have walked away when you could. Maybe, you would have made it it alive had you done so. Unfortunately, you did not heed out words. One more thing, you may not speak my name. You may only refer to me as many others do, you may call me "The Alpha."**

At that moment, Ryker held Lygon upright with several tendrils of **Darkness.** The Alpha took a few steps back as several figures manifested around Lygon in a large circle. The shadows covering them disappeared, revealing them to be shadow clones of Ryker, all in their anthromorphic forms as well as donning his armor and helmet. However, the most everyone saw of them was their silhouettes like the original Ryker. Ryker growled, his clones summoning his blades, all of them having two. Ryker then gave Lygon a final look, his growl intensifying with his anger.

 **"I changed my mind, I will erase your existence completely along with your soul. This will teach you to stay away from me and my family as well as my friends and allies... Farewell."** At his last word, all of his clones charged forward and began to deal numerous slash wounds and stabs at Lygon who could only howl in pain. The clones moved as if they were each their own being, each doing different combinations of attacks including several with hellfire and shadows.

"What the hell is this?" Balto asked aloud, receiving silence of disbelief from everyone around him. He looked around, finding that everyone's eyes were fixed on Ryker. He then looked over to where Aurora was at, finding her paralyzed with fear and shock.

 _Ryker?... Is that still you?_ she thought to herself. She then shook her head vigorously, selling with a determined expression. _Of course it is. I shouldn't doubt... Ryker, end it already. We're all waiting for you._

Ryker's clones finished their attacks by driving their swords into Lygon from several angles though amazingly, avoiding all vital spots and thus, keeping him alive. Barely. The clones disappeared and returned to Ryker in wisps of shadows, the swords they imbedded unto Lygon still remained and they began to burn away at the Manticore's flesh. Ryker walked up to Lygon, a lunar eclipse suddenly occurring and soon, bathed the entire area with a light layer of shadow. Ryker looked at the moon, smiling at the sight of it blocking out the sum. He howled to the sky, the sound roared in all of their ears and terrified them to no end. The moon suddenly enlarged, Ryker growled and the area around him and Lygon began to shake with a growing intensity.

Ryker spread his enormous wings, taking to the sky and growling once more. He closed his eyes and the moon emitted strange black rings from its core, all of them travelling down to the moon's lower axis then surrounded Lygon who looked at the rings with panic. They shrunk until they were barely an inch or so away from making contact with Lygon's body.

 **"Shatter...Dying Light."** Ryker stated as he bathed Lygon in a torrent of Shadows and hellfire. The attack fused with the dark rings around Lygon's bodies. The Rings pulsed then shrunk, making contact with Lygon's body. Lygon began to scream as his body began to disintegrate, literally nothing was left behind as the rings made contact. Then, Lygon's entire body became pitch **black** as the rings went inside his body. His screams silenced and suddenly, a large explosion occupied the space where he was held. Everyone who was watching closed their eyes as the pressure of the explosion sent wind and debris... very little debris, their way. It lasted for a few more seconds until it finally stopped, cueing everyone to look.

They were shocked to find literally nothing in the area Lygon was in. It was as if an entity took an enormous eraser and rendered away the existence of the grass, ground, dirt, everything in that spot. All that was left was empty space, a large, smooth crater was left behind and not even smoke or debris could be seen. Absolutely nothing...

They looked up to see Ryker landing before them, the moon returned to its original position and the skies were cleared, leaving a brightly shining sun. Ryker's presence terrified everyone, none of them made a move as he scanned them, taking note of their injuries. Ryker waved a paw and they found their injuries healed within moments. A spurt of blood erupted from Ryker's newest cut on his leg but he ignored it. He then took a deep breath and sighed, glad that it was all over.

Aurora was the first one to move, she slowly crept up to Ryker who gave her a concerned look. She froze when he came close but relaxed when he hugged her.

"Are you alright? You're not harmed, are you?" he asked, his tone of voice returning to that of a kind and caring person.

Aurora immediately broke out in tears and hugged him back, yelling her worries and such to him as he sat there and listened to her cries. It was then everyone else moved, finding themselves ashamed that they thought Ryker was going to end up hurting them. Everyone gathered around him, smiles plastered their faces as they witnessed the heartwarming reunion. Members of the pack's inner circle (Aniu, Demon, Balto, etc.) came one by one and hugged Ryker who gladly returned the hugs. Next, those who were from another dimension greeted him. Finally, those from Rick's group came and hugged him. Vulcan and Ally were the last to hug him before Ryker gave them all a smile.

"I thank you all for risking your lives to save me. I promise, I will repay the debt to all of you when I can. I will never forget this... However," he started. He gave them all a stern look, especially his family, including Aurora, and close friends. They all slightly cowered though they somewhat relaxed when he stopped growling. "What you all did was extremely dangerous. Had any of you made a single mistake, a single mistake is all there is to it. That one mistake could very well mean the end of your lives."

The group lowered their heads but they looked up with surprise as Ryker began chuckling, shaking his head and giving another smile. "But I am glad you all came anyway. You gave me another chance to be here with you all and I am deeply grateful... Thank.. you.. all.." Ryker stated though he sounded somewhat off at the end of his last statement.

Aurora gave him a concerned look, nudging him a few times to get his attention. "You're still hurt. You shouldn't talk right now, we'll heal you right away." she said in a low tone.

Ryker chuckled lightly and shook his head, slowing blinking before dipping his head. "Don't... worry..Just a little.. tired..." he told her before transformed into his human form and fell forward, Aurora quickly caught him as she panicked. She shook him several times, earning no response from her lover.

"Ryker? Ryker? Ryker!" she panicked as she tried to get a response from him.

 _Do not worry, he's just resting._

They all turned to see Jeanne as well as Darko floating over to them. They grinned at the sight of Ryker asleep on Aurora and chuckled to each other, all's well that end's well. Darko went up to Aurora, bowing to her with a nod.

 _Congratulations, Lady Akirari on your transformation. You must be proud to know that you have gained a grand achievement such as this._ he told her, receiving a smile and a thanks from Aurora. He then turned to Ryker, Jeanne floating up next to him and looking at Ryker as well.

 _He achieved something as well, the last stage of growth in the life of a Fenrir should one reach as far as he did._ Jeanne announced. She earned looks of confusion from the group, chuckling as she looked at Darko to give them the explanation.

They all looked at Darko who cleared his throat, gesturing to Ryker who somewhat stirred in his sleep then remained still again. _Lord Fang has went gained a greater form of Darkness,_ _ **Darkness**_ _that many may call "nothing"._ Everyone looked at one another, wondering what exactly the Arceus meant. Darko settled them down and gestured to the sleeping Fenrir once more. _Many may also call the great_ _ **Darkness**_ _"chaos",_ _ **Darkness**_ _so great, it is only obtained through gaining power from Light, then expelling all of Light's properties save for it's power._

"What do you mean, Lord Arceus? What greater form of Darkness does he possess?" Aurora asked, her interest and curiosity piqued as well as everyone else who was listening in on the conversation.

Darko lightly touched Ryker on the shoulder, only to recoil in pain as a flash of **Darkness** flared at his touch. He healed himself and gave a small nod at Ryker, giving a look to everyone else. _I would like to announce that Lord Fang is no longer of fire and darkness.. No, he is of_ _ **Dark**_ _hellfire and_ _ **Darkness,**_ _the latter also known as_ _ **"Void",**_ _the greatest form as well as the strongest of Darkness there is. He is the first and only Fenrir to reach this point, none other have even come close._ _ **Void**_ _has the power to give anything to the_ _ **Darkness,**_ _turning that to nothing, nonexistent for lack of better word. There is no other element more powerful than this and not even Light can counter it._

Everyone stared in shock, their surprise showed through their gaping mouths and widened eyes. Aurora for one, was not as surprised as the others and looked at Ryker with a loving smile. While everyone was talking and preparing for the rest of the day, she rested her head on Ryker's shoulder and gave him a small kiss. She slightly jumped soon afterwards, surprised to hear Ryker give a happy growl of contentment in his sleep. She then giggled to herself, shaking her head before lifting Ryker onto her back. She gained the attention of everyone around her as the two Arceus disappeared, their business finished.

Aniu walked up to Aurora and gave a smile, Demon and the rest of them doing the same. _What do we do now?_ Aniu asked with a chuckle.

Aurora looked around, beaming and nodding to all of them. "We all go home." Aurora then looked over at the dragons of the Realms. "And then we'll get you guys back to your homes." she finished.

Spyro stepped up to her and scratched the back of his head, glancing at his group with a smirk before smiling at Aurora. "Eeh, it's not bad here at all in Kanto. We wouldn't mind if we stayed for a whole longer." he told her with the others nodding in agreement.

Aurora smiled widely and nodded, opening the portal that led to the pack den. She waited for everyone, including those freed from the Beacon, to walk in before going through herself.

 **At the den...**

Aurora and Nyx were walking to the main cave, talking to each other about what they had done over the years.

"Blast, now that you can talk aloud too, I don't feel so special anymore." Nyx joked, throwing them both into a small fit of laughter.

Aurora, Ryker still on her back, resumed giggling for a moment before stopping and giving Nyx a reassuring look. "Don't be silly, Nyx. You are special. You're my best friend and that will never change. I'm sure Ryker would like to get to know you too." she replied as she checked on Ryker who was still secure on her back.

Nyx returned her smile and gave her a small hug before they reached the cave. They walked in to see Jenna and Aleu rush up to Balto and tackled him to the floor, burying him in their love for him. The two chuckled at the adorable sight before continuing to the back of the cave. Nyx found a spot he liked underneath a hole in the ceiling of the cave, curling up at the spot. When night comes, the moon would be able to shine on him through the hole in the ceiling and being an Umbreon, that would take the cake. He looked over at Aurora who gently set Ryker on their usual spot surround by stalagmites and stalactites. She then settled on her stomach next to him, turning to see Nyx with a smile on his face.

"What? What's so funny?" she asked as Nyx let out a small chuckle.

"It's just so cute to see you and Mr. Scary Blooming Badass over there together like that. So lovey-dovey, yes?" he told her, Aurora rolling her eyes at him at his claim.

"Oh, hush up. Remember, I can still tell Evelyn your feelings about her." Aurora shot back, thinking about a certain albino Espeon.

Nyx blushed and turned around, muttering to himself as Aurora laughed at his childish pouting. She then turned her attention to Ryker who seemed peaceful in his sleep. Actually, Aurora very much wanted to wake him up so that they could catch up on the lost three years. Also, when she transformed earlier, Ryker seemed to have some knowledge about Akirari. However, she decided against waking him up, she would go to sleep as well and wait for him to wake up.

 **Two days later at the Hall of Origins...**

Ryker didn't wake up yet like Aurora thought he would, she figured that he needed a lot more rest due to all that he endured during the escape from the Beacon as well as the battle with Lygon. During the passed two days, everyone had already begun to relax and go about their business, no longer worrying about anything major anymore. The two Arceus awarded all those who were involved with a gift, each one suited due to that person's innermost desires. Aurora, however, and a few others, rejected the offer. They found that just getting Ryker back was an award in itself. Those who were freed from the Beacon were given another chance to start a new life or go back to their families as they wished. They all thanked Aurora personally before leaving, some even gave her a few hugs before doing so.

Some of the main group went back to their respective homes. Those include Rick and his family, Ash, Sora (who made sure Aurora was going to say "Hi" to Ryker for him), and about half of the dragons of the Realms, the ones that left wanted to make sure the Realms were still safe.

Currently, Aurora was walking down a hallway and turned a corner only to bump into her brothers who smiled at the sight of her.

 _Hey sis, how's Lord Fenrir? Doing better?_ Pyro asked.

"He's still asleep last time I checked which was this morning. He's been sleeping ever since we got back." Aurora replied with a small frown.

 _You think he's okay?_ Raiden asked. _He went through a lot and he sustained a lot of damage._

Aurora nodded with a smile replacing her frown. She then stretched her legs before walking passed them to continue on her way. "Of course he is. He's Alpha. He's just resting up."

They nodded as she left the area and went on their way. Aurora found that she had nothing else important to do at the Hall of Origins and opened the portal to the den. The entire two days, besides relaxing like everyone else, she was running around tying up some loose ends that had to deal with Lygon's absence and the loss of the Orb. She also had go to multiple companies and some high authorities to explain what had happened in that area that day. Their battle at the Beacon did not go unheard as it was only about a city's worth distance away from the nearest town. After convincing them that everything was fine as well as paying some fines due to the geological damage (the money came from Rick who happily helped out), Aurora finally finished up all of her duties.

Aurora walked through the portal and ended up outside the cave. She went inside, greeting some of her friends and family along the way, and walked to the very back of the cave. However, she stopped and nearly panicked when she found that Ryker was not there! Instead, Nyx could be seen playing chess with an albino Espion, Evelyn.

"My! Where did Ryker go?" Aurora asked, worry taking over her nerves.

Nhx jumped at her sudden tone of voice and looked back at her, giving her a gesture that pointed in the direction north of their position. "He went that way. I asked him where he was going but he just to me that it was nowhere important."

"When did he wake up and leave?"

"About an hour or so after you left and then he left the area about three-four hours ago. Why, deary?"

"Alright, thanks for the info, Nyx! Sorry for leaving so quickly, Evelyn, but I'll talk to you both later!" Aurora told them before taking off, running out of the cave then flying north like Nyx indicated. As she flew, she wondered where Ryker could have possibly went. She looked ahead of her, seeing Mount Moon in the distance. _He must be there._ she thought to herself with confidence, increasing her speed.

She reached the mountain a few minutes later, scanning the area for Ryker. When she didn't spot him, she flew up to the summit and tried looking in his cave. To her surprise, she found him there asleep in his **Natural Form.** Now that the sun is up and there was no longer a coat of **Darkness** covering him, she could clearly see more details on him.

Ryker definitely looked a lot more intimidating than he already did before. Besides being a couple heads taller, his body's muscle mass looked more toned and developed, making Aurora gasp at the sight. His family brand was actually visible, **Void** glowed from the lines and enabled her to see them more clearly. With his every breath, the **Void** flames lining his family brands flared up in intensity. Like before, he had four blades that were sprouted from his body. They were in the same spots though the only difference was that they were serrated. He had two more, smaller ones, behind the ones on his back though they were set closer to his spine. Around his ankles were flames and the same could be said for the base of all of his horns and claws. The sight made him look... hellish. Ryker had more horns as well, two small ones that curved back in between his two large ones and another horn behind the one on his snout, the new one was only a tad smaller. The rest of them, the two that stuck out and pointed forwards from under his jaw, his chin spike, and the two that were sprouted on his cheekbones remained the same. As mentioned before, **Void** flames surrounded the base of each of his horns. From the back of his head to the base of his tail was trail of black spikes which were slightly curved backwards, all of them having flames around the bases as well. Ryker's wings had changed too, being slightly bigger and having flaming leather black membranes. He had clawed wing thumbs and they too, like the rest of the spikes, horns, and claws on us body, had flames at the bases. Ryker still had all the spikes he had on his shoulders and knees though they grew slightly larger. Ryker's tail had spikes like his back but the ones on his tail were slightly smaller, curving back more as well. They ended at the tip of the tail and acted almost like a sword if he were to swing his tail about. Ryker retained the flame tip on his tail but Aurora noticed that there was **Void** flowing from the rest of the tail as well. On his chest, Aurora saw the same symbol that was on his chest back at the Beacon though this time, the edges of the symbol were a lot sharper as well as looking serrated like his blades. Aurora noticed one final feature, before, he had two fangs that overhung his lips. Now, he had two more from his lower jaw that did the same but upwards, the two were behind the overhung ones.

She took a step forward only to freeze when she noticed one if his ears twitch at her step. Ryker shifted, getting up on his fore legs and yawning, his fangs glinted and Aurora began to nervously chuckle to herself though she found that she did so for no apparent reason. Ryker stretched his fore legs, then getting up on his hind legs bringing him up to his complete height. He turned around and opened his eyes, pitch **black** save for his white irises. He smiled at the sight of her and walked over, hugging her.

"Good evening, love, how was your day so far?" he asked, his voice very deep though she loved it along with his accent. Ryker looked at Aurora to see her smiling with tears, she shook her head and buried it on his chest since she was no longer tall enough to reach the crook of his neck.

"I-I-I missed you, Ryker." she sobbed, finding that she couldn't find the rest of her words.

"I know, I know. There wasn't a day that went by without me thinking of you. Just the thought of you alone and the rest of our family kept me going... I wish it was a bit more comfortable though." Ryker replied with a chuckle, trying to lift her mood.

Aurora started laughing with him, shaking her head at his cruel humor. She then felt his wings envelop her in a warm embrace, Ryker lowered his head to her level and rested it on her shoulder. "Ryker?" she asked. Ryker whined. Wait, he whined? Aurora couldn't believe what was happening. The Alpha, her lover, the strongest person she knew, whined? Now she knew how Lygon felt. Impossible.

"I missed being by your side, I missed hearing all of your laughter and seeing all of your smiles. Usually, I love being in the dark, sleeping in the dark, I feel safe. The dark is my sanctuary. But, for some strange reason in there, it just felt... cold. I felt like I was being boxed in with nothing to do but to prepare for the next day where the same feeling creeps in. Now, I've been alone before for many years of my life. But, in the Beacon, that was the first time I felt _lonely._ I thought about the Pack, what would it be for me have they not been there for me? To take me in as one of their own even when I didn't trust them myself? What if I didn't have Grace or Vargulf as part of my squadron? What if I didn't investigate the explosions outside my cave that day so many years ago? What if I haven't met _you_?... Aurora,.. " Aurora felt tears spill onto her shoulders. She began to shake, looking at Ryker with a new light she hasn't noticed before." Aurora... I don't want to lose anybody, I don't want to lose Balto, Vulcan, Aniu, ANYONE!... I don't want to lose you either, for you are the only one who can make me feel less of a monster.. feel like I have something many would call.. a heart. I love you all... never forget that."

Aurora was speechless, first whining and now crying? Now, he was confessing his heart out to her. Of course, she knew all of it from the start but to hear him actually say all of those things, crying and whining too? No, this was a breakthrough from him and she was incredibly happy for him. Aurora teared up and looked up, seeing him give her a pained look. However, it turned into a small but surprised smile when she kissed him. They stayed like that for who knows long, but they didn't care. That moment was just for them to relish, for them to enjoy without a care in the world.

When they finally disconnected, Ryker had a beaming smile to match Aurora's. She notices that his eyes glowed with a certain dark light that wasn't there before. She found that she liked that glow, vowing to herself that she would keep it there. Aurora then noticed Ryker's claws were dirty, giving him a questioning look.

"What did you do when you left the den?" she asked, cleaning his claws by wearing her paw and wiping his down.

Ryker seemed to fumble on his words and Aurora noticed this, giving him a curious look. "I, uh, I had to catch up on lost training. Can't go rusty, you know?" he explained to her. Aurora gave him a look that showed her doubt but she decided to keep quiet, letting him off just this one time. Ryker sighed in relief and thanked her as she finished cleaning his claws.

Aurora shrugged and sighed, leaning into him. Ryker arched an eyeridge and chuckled and sighed as well, closing his eyes as the sun began to set in the stance. Aurora inwardly squealed, his fur warmed due to the slight drop in temperature and the warmth spread throughout her system. Ryker rested a claw on her shoulder, instantaneous warmth spread into her from that point and caused her to shudder. She looked up to see that his eyes were closed once more, content radiated from his being. Aurora smiled, leaning her head onto his chest and closing her eyes as well.

She then opened her eyes as she suddenly remembered an important detail. "Jeanne wants to talk with you as soon as you can." she told him. Ryker opened his eyes and nodded, opening a portal leading to the Hall of Origins.

"Want to come with?" he asked, smiling at her and lifting a wing. Aurora nodded, returning a smile than taking her place by his side under his warm wing. The two the walked through the portal, appearing in a circular room in the Hall or Origins.

Ryker led Aurora down a few hallways, stopping in front of Jeanne's chambers. He knocked on the double doors and they opened automatically.

 _Come in._ Jeanne told them from within the room. The two did so and found Jeanne and Darko waiting for them at a large table. They gestured for them to take a seat, Aurora sitting across from Jeanne and Ryker across from Darko.

"May I ask what's the purpose of this meeting, Milord, Milady? " Ryker asked, giving an expression of curiosity when food suddenly covered the table. There was practically a buffet on the table and the two Arceus grinned at their strongest Legendaries.

 _Celebration._ Darko answered as he gestured for them to dig in.

And so, they ate.

 **About a month later...**

"A pokémon trainer journey? Whatever for?" Ryker asked, stretching his wings.

Aurora gave him an excited look, telling him in a matter-of-fact tone. "Because, it would be fun. Besides, Nyx wants to try it out too. It'll be fun for all three of us!"

The group, Ryker, Aurora, Balto, Jenna, Aleu, and Nyx were sitting in the field in front of Mount Moon. Vulcan and Ally had left moments earlier to get themselves something to eat. They were just hanging out, the recent events had finally calmed down and they were finally relaxing.

"Come on, Ryker, why don't we try it out? You have a trainer's licence, yes?" Nyx stated with a suggesting tone. Ryker transformed into his human form, taking out his wallet and handing Nyx his trainer's license." Crikey, it's going to expire in a fortnight. If we're going to go, we'd better decide now and get our arses in gear."

The group looked at Ryker, Vulcan and Ally had just landed and they assumed the situation had to do with Ryker's trainer's license which was still in Nyx's possession. Ryker sighed and shook his head with a chuckle, giving them an amused look. "Alright, I'll humor you two. We'll go after i get this license renewed by Professor Oak in Pallet Town."

Nux and Aurora cheered and high-pawed each other before Vulcan cleared his throat, transforming into his anthromorphic form and surprising them as he was wearing a tuxedo with a flair of crimson bordering the edges. "What do you all say we head to the club over there?" Vulcan asked, pointing to a direction behind him.

"The club?" Balto asked, now used to talking in his true form thanks to a spell Ryker taught them all. Vulcan nodded and Balto got up, transforming into his anthromorphic form as well. "Hell yeah, let's do it.

"I'm game, sounds like fun." Jenna added, transforming as well into her anthromorphic form as she carried a sleeping Alex. Jenna was wearing a scarlett red dress that matched with Balto's gray and black suit.

Ryker was amused, noticing that they all chose to transformed into their anthromorphic forms. He looked over at Nyx who nodded before transforming as well. Nyx was wearing a blue shirt underneath a leather jacket. Complete with black jeans, he wore a necklace with a sapphire gem shaped into a crescent moon. He had small black fur with blue rings glowing with his every heartbeat. His head was the same save for the long hair that hung to his shoulders. Other than that, there were no changes besides him having fingers and toes. "Jason Statham, eat your bloody heart out." Nyx said with a laugh, earning laughter from the rest of them.

Aurora transformed next, ending up being the same height as she was before. Being 6' 3", she had long flowing white hair that stopped short of her ankles. Every two or so seconds, streaks of blue bordered with light would glow on random strands of her hair. Her head was the same though her ice mane was instead a small crown like adornment atop her head, leading all the way back to the back of her head. Along with the enchanted jewelry Ryker got her, small rings of Light glowed around her arms as well as her legs. Her tail swisher slowly side to side as Aurora took note of her dress. It was the silver dress Ryker had bought for her a whole back, with blue waves shifting with her movements.

"Jeez Aurora, give us ladies a fighting chance." Ally joked, transformed as well. Her horns were smaller and she had black hair that stopped at the middle of her back. She had a ruby dress, bought by Vulcan as a gift, and her wings were tucked in. Luckily, the dress was already modified to accompany her wings as there were smalls slits in the back, the same could be said for Vulcan's and Aurora's clothes.

"You're coming, right? Ryker?" Vulcan asked with a chuckle.

"I suppose though I have to do something first." Ryker replied as he got up. The others only looked on with confusion as he opened a portal. "I'll meet up with you soon, don't worry."

"Where are you going?" Aurora asked, almost exasperated. This was one of several times Ryker had to leave them without an explanation. She was starting to worry but like he said, he always came back by the next couple of hours. However, she would noticed that his hands would be dirty and his energy would be somewhat depleted.

Ryker simply winked at her with a smile, leaving her speechless. He then stepped into the portal, turning around as Vulcan called out his name.

"The club will only let you in when you're in your anthro form!" Vulcan added, receiving a slow nod from Ryker before the older Fenrir left the area.

 **Mount Moon...**

"Well," Ryker stated as he picked up a block of wood, "the foundation is almost done. I just got to finish up with this piece and..."

 **Back with the others...**

"So this is it?" Balto asked, Jenna hugged in his left arm. They had already dropped off Aleu with Aniu who happily agreed to look after her. Vulcan walked up to the club entrance and opened the door, gesturing for them to come inside.

"This is it. Welcome to The Wild Side." Vulcan announced as they went inside. The club was a night club, the interior was dark and there was low colorful lights that shown at different intervals. The Wild Side was actually very large, it had a large dance floor, a huge stage, a bar, and many tables that were spread out behind the dance floor. Many people were already on the dance floor, all of them pokémon or any other creature in their anthro forms. There wasn't a single human in sight and those know the dance floor had things like glow sticks and such. There was no one present on the stage but Aurora smiled, that little detail was about to change really soon.

Vulcan led them to a table and they each took their seats, a waitress, a Lopunny in a slightly revealing dress, came up to them with a chipper attitude. "Hello, my name in Cynthia. May I take your order?" she asked. It was only then that the group noticed that there were menus on the table.

"Can you give us a moment? We haven't looked through the menu yet." Jenna asked her, the Lopunny nodding with a "Sure thing" before she waltzed off. The group looked through their menus, surprised to see a large variety of food listed in a few different categories. Some of the drinks sounded intriguing such as one called the "Gas Mask" though they decided to avoid that one.

"Anyone figured out what they want yet? I'm buying again." Vulcan announced with a smile.

It was then they heard a few squeals and shrieks from several females near the entrance. They turned to see Ryker in his anthro form making his way through the small mob of females. Aurora gasped, she herself would've probably acted the same way as the women had she not been Ryker's lover already. Ryker was wearing a buttoned up collared black shirt underneath a black blazer. His collar was left unbuttoned, letting those who looked to see his necklace. He also wore black slacks complete with his belt. With dress shoes, fingerless gloves, and his watch, nothing else about him was changed save for his head which had the hairstyle he had in his human form. His wings were tucked in through the back of his clothes though he opened them sometimes to ward off any approaching female who made a grab for him.

"I hope you didn't have to wait long, I just finished up on an important task." Ryker told them as he took a seat next to Aurora.

"Not at all. We just got here, actually. Hurry and make your order though before the waitress comes back." Vulcan told his brother. Ryker nodded and as he looked through his menu, he noticed Aurora steal some sneaky glances at him. Ryker chuckled to himself, reaching under the table to squeeze Aurora's leg. Aurora nearly jumped when she felt his warm hands massage her, giving him a warm smile in thanks as the Lopunny waitress returned.

"Are you all ready?" she asked, taking note of Ryker. They gave her their orders and she speedily wrote them down, giving Ryker a flirting look before she walked off. Aurora, having noticed the Lopunny, smacked Ryker who told her he had no involvement with the rabbit pokémon.

"You guys ever dance before?" Vulcan asked, taking a look at the dance floor.

"Twice though it wasn't at a club." Aurora answered as Ryker chuckled to her response.

"I breakdance." Balto cut in, earning surprised looks from the group save for Jenna who slowly nodded in agreement. "Along with singing, I like to dance sometimes to the song. It really excites the crowd."

"I never danced before." Nyx told them. "But it looks pretty easy to me, I just hope I won't break a bloody leg." he finished with a laugh.

They continued to talk until the waitress returned with their drinks, calling out the name of the drinks as she served them. "I'm sorry, your food is done but I'm going to ha e to make two more trips in order to serve all of you." she added.

"That's fine." Ryker replied as he got up, pushing in his chair. "I'll go and get it, don't you worry yourself." he then walked passed the waitress to the counter where he picked up the food, balancing them all on his arms, and returned them to the table where he served the plates to them..

"Thank you, handsome." the Lopunny told him as she walked off. At that, Aurora let out an inaudible growl though stopped when Ryker handed her food to her. Serving himself last, Ryker sat down and they all dug in to their food, finding it surprisingly amazing despite the fact that they were in a night club.

The group began to converse, Ryker, as usual, kept quiet most of the time though only adding input whenever asked. Whilst they talked and ate, people began taking to the stage and started singing. Aurora finished her plate and slowly turned her head towards Ryker's direction, the Fenrir noticed it though tried to ignore her advances.

"Oh, Ryker~." Aurora sang, Ryker lowered his head and scratched his ear as if he didn't hear her. "Ryker~." Aurora continued, the others began to laugh as they witnessed the spectacle. Ryker adjusted his collar and took a sip from his cup, then putting down and the waning smile.

"It's too early, Aurora." he stated with a low tone, promoting the rest of them to laugh. Aurora, however, narrowed her eyes and latched onto his arm.

"What do you mean "too early"?! The last time we sang was back in Sinnoh!" Aurora retorted.

Ryker sighed and chuckled, rubbing Aurora's shoulder and calming her down. He then set his plate aside, which was clean due to him skillfully using his utensils, and smiled. He then gestured to them rest of them, eyeing each of them with an amused expression.

"Only if the rest of you go as well." Ryker stated, his condition for him singing was actually quite simple to follow as they liked to sing. The group laughed at this and nodded, Ryker laughing as well before getting up. "I'll be back." he said.

"Where now?" Jenna asked with a giggle.

"To relieve myself." Ryker answered before he turned, entering then men's room. Their question was answered and they began to wonder what each of them would sing. As they were going over their decisions, more and more customers of the night club, even some of the staff, sang and the crowd either listened or danced to them, or both. It was only until Ryker came back when the group decided what they each were going to sing. "Any of you are starting?" Ryker asked.

Immediately, even faster than Aurora who was about to stand, Ally shot up from her seat like a rocket on turbo and made her way to the stage. She had to wait in line and some time later, she finally took her place on the center of the stage, earning some cheers and whoops from the crowd.

 **"Whistle (While You Work It)"**

"My day one rule

Is keeping my cool

Even if I'm broken up

If you blow my high

You won't see me cry

Gotta whistle while you work it

That's why you gotta

Never let them see you down, see you down

Whoa o whoa, yeah

Gotta smile while you're hurting

And whistle while you work it

Whistle while you work it

Gotta smile while you're hurting

Just whistle while you work it

Rain rain go away

I can feel a cloud hangin' over me, over me

Same shit different day

Do they get a kick outta pushin' me, pushin' me

Got lost in my head

Then my brother said

Take a breath, don't you worry child

Cause you know where ya from

So keep moving on

And go throw on a Chelsea smile

My day one rule

Is keeping my cool

Even if I'm broken up

If you blow my high

You won't see me cry

Gotta whistle while you work it

That's why you gotta

Never let them see you down, see you down

Whoa o whoa, yeah

Gotta smile while you're hurting

And whistle while you work it

Whistle while you work it

Gotta smile while you're hurting

Just whistle while you work it

Brush brush, brush it off

I will never let this shit weigh me down, weigh me down

Don't cry, dry your eyes

Keep your chin up and leave it all behind, all behind

Got lost in my head

Then my brother said

Take a breath, don't you worry child

Cause you know where ya from

So keep moving on

And go throw on a Chelsea smile

My day one rule

Is keeping my cool

Even if I'm broken up

If you blow my high.

You won't see me cry

Gotta whistle while you work it

That's why you gotta

Never let them see you down, see you down

Whoa o whoa, yeah

Gotta smile while you're hurting

And whistle while you work it

Whistle while you work it

Gotta smile while you're hurting

Just whistle while you work it

Tune out of your darker side

Regret, revenge, will eat you up inside

Head up, work that dignity

Let it bounce, let it fly, and make them history

If you put in work, whistle while you work it

If you put in work, whistle while you work it

If you put in work, whistle while you work it

If you put in work, whistle while you work it

My day one rule

Is keeping my cool

Even if I'm broken up

If you blow my high

You won't see me cry

Gotta whistle while you work it

That's why you gotta

Never let them see you down, see you down

Whoa o whoa, yeah

Gotta smile while you're hurting

And whistle while you work it

Whistle while you work it

Gotta smile while you're hurting

Just whistle while you work it."

Ally bowed as the crowd cheered for her. While she was singing, the crowd had danced to her song as it was very catchy as well as inviting to such an action like dancing. Ally walked off the stage, returning to the group with a thumbs up. Jenna and Balto were next to get up, getting to the stage before anyone else had the chance to. Jenna adjusted the microphone stand so that it was her level and cleared her throat, readying herself. Balto was given a wireless microphone by the staff and he put it on like an earpiece.

 **"Love Me Harder"**

[Jenna:]

Tell me something I need to know

Then take my breath and never let it go

If you just let me invade your space

I'll take the pleasure, take it with the pain

And if in the moment I bite my lip

Baby, in that moment you'll know this is

Something bigger than us and beyond bliss

Give me a reason to believe it

'Cause if you want to keep me, you gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta, got to love me harder

And if you really need me, you gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta, got to love me harder

Baby, love me harder

Ooh, ooh, ooh, oooh,

Love me, love me, love me,

Ooh, ooh, ooh, oooh,

Harder, harder, harder

[Balto:]

I know your motives and you know mine

The ones that love me, I tend to leave behind

If you know about me and choose to stay

Then take this pleasure and take it with the pain

And if in the moment you bite your lip

When I get you moaning you know it's real

Can you feel the pressure between your hips?

I'll make it feel like the first time

[Jenna & (Balto):]

'Cause if you want to keep me, you gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta, got to love me harder (I'm a love you harder)

And if you really need me, you gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta, got to love me harder (love me harder)

Ooh, ooh, ooh, oooh,

Love me, love me, love me,

Ooh, ooh, ooh, oooh,

Harder, harder, harder,

Ooh, ooh, ooh, oooh,

Love me, love me, love me,

Ooh, ooh, ooh, oooh,

Harder, harder, harder

[Balto, (Balto) then Jenna)

So what do I do if I can't figure it out? (figure it out)

You got to try, try, try again, yeah.

So what do I do if I can't figure it out? (figure it out)

I'm gonna leave, leave, leave again

[Jenna and (Balto:]

'Cause if you want to keep me, you gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta, got to love me harder (I'm a love you, love you, love you)

And if you really need me, you gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta, got to love me harder (love me, love me, baby)

'Cause if you want to keep me, you gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta, got to love me harder (love me harder)

And if you really need me, you gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta, got to love me harder (I'm a love you harder)

Ooh, ooh, ooh, oooh,

Love me, love me, love me,

Ooh, ooh, ooh, oooh,

Harder, harder, harder,

(Love me, love me, baby)

Ooh, ooh, ooh, oooh,

Love me, love me, love me

(Just a little bit, harder, harder, baby)

Ooh, ooh, ooh, oooh,

Harder, harder, harder."

The crowd broke into a frenzy, cheering their lungs out for the couple. Ryker and the group clapped for Balto and Jenna as they happily made their way to the stage, Jenna somewhat blushing due to slight embarrassment as the song they sang was somewhat suggesting.

"Awesome job you two!" Vulcan remarked before getting up himself. He made his way to the stage though had to wait for another person who was already there. After about a few minutes, Vulcan went up and he out on the earpiece instead of using the microphone stand. All of a sudden, Nyx appeared by his side and grabbed the microphone off the stand. Together, they stood with broad smiles.

 **"See You Again"**

[Vulcan:]

It's been a long day without you, my friend

And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again

We've come a long way from where we began

Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again

When I see you again

(Hey)

[Nyx:]

Damn, who knew?

All the planes we flew

Good things we've been through

That I'll be standing right here talking to you

'Bout another path

I know we loved to hit the road and laugh

But something told me that it wouldn't last

Had to switch up

Look at things different, see the bigger picture

Those were the days

Hard work forever pays

Now I see you in a better place (see you in a better place)

Uh

How can we not talk about family when family's all that we got?

Everything I went through you were standing there by my side

And now you gon' be with me for the last ride

[Vulcan and (Nyx) :]

It's been a long day without you, my friend

And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again (I see you again)

We've come a long way (yeah, we came a long way) from where we began (you know we started)

Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I'll see you again (let me tell you)

When I'll see you again

[Vulcan:]

(Aah oh, aah oh

Wooooh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)

(Yeah)

[Nyx:]

First you both go out your way

And the vibe is feeling strong

And what's small turn to a friendship

A friendship turn to a bond

And that bond will never be broken

The love will never get lost (and the love will never get lost)

And when brotherhood come first

Then the line will never be crossed

Established it on our own

When that line had to be drawn

And that line is what we reach

So remember me when I'm gone (remember me when I'm gone)

How can we not talk about family when family's all that we got?

Everything I went through you were standing there by my side

And now you gon' be with me for the last ride

[Vulcan:]

So let the light guide your way, yeah

Hold every memory as you go

And every road you take, will always lead you home, home

[Together, Vulcan and Nyx:]

It's been a long day without you, my friend

And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again

We've come a long way from where we began

Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again

When I see you again

(Aah oh)

(Uh)

(Aah oh)

(Yeah)

(Wooooh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)

(Ya, ya)

When I see you again

(Uh)

See you again

(Wooooh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)

(Yeah, yeah, uh-huh)

When I see you again."

They bowed as the crowd went crazy, the song the two sang was extremely popular due to a movie that recently came out. However, about halfway through casting the movie, a famous actor died in a horrible car accident. He was replaced with his brother who looked similar to him and the movie ended up finished with the song dedicated to the actor. Ryker heard of the incident involving the car crash and thought it was strange. The car had apparently spun out of control and hit a tree, causing it to catch fire and explode. Ryker frowned. You see, the actor was not driving the car. In fact, he was the passenger and the driver was a professional NASCAR driver. Now, how could a professional driver, who had years of experience, lose control of a sports car? Another thing, reports revealed that the engine had caught fire. The thing was, car was a Porsche. Ryker knew for a fact that every Porsche had the engine in the _back_ of the car, in the trunk space. If the car crashed headfirst into the tree, how would the engine catch fire and explode? Another fact, someone tried to steal a piece of the wreckage shortly afterwards... Whatever the case, Ryker left the subject alone and didn't voice his thoughts as it would probably cause a conspiracy. So, when Vulcan and Nyx came down from the stage, they saw a few of those on the dance floor as well as those at the tables tearing up, apparently, they were great fans of that actor.

Anyways, Aurora took to the stage within seconds. After receiving a short cheer from the crowd and a few whistles, she mimicked Nyx and took the microphone from the stand. She held it in a hand and gave Ryker a wink, to which, he arched an eyeridge at her in curiosity.

 **"Bright"**

"I think the universe is on my side

Heaven and Earth have finally aligned

Days are good and that's the way it should beYou sprinkle star dust on my pillow case

It's like a moonbeam brushed across my face

Nights are good and that's the way it should be

You make me sing oh, la, la, La

You make a girl go oh oh

I'm in love, love

Did you see that shooting star tonight?

Were you dazzled by the same constellation?

Did you and Jupiter conspire to get me?

I think you and the Moon and Neptune got it right

'Cause now I'm shining bright, so bright

Bright, so bright

And I see colors in a different way

You make what doesn't matter fade to grey

Life is good and that's the way it should be

You make me sing oh, la, la, la

You make a girl go oh oh

I'm in love, love

Did you see that shooting star tonight?

Were you dazzled by the same constellation?

Did you and Jupiter conspire to get me?

I think you and the Moon and Neptune got it right

'Cause now I'm shining bright (oh) so bright

And I get lost (oh) in your eyes

Did you see that shooting star tonight?

Were you dazzled by the same constellation?

Did you and Jupiter conspire to get me?

I think you and the Moon and Neptune got it right

I think you and the Moon and Neptune got it right

I think you and the Moon and Neptune got it right*

'Cause now I'm shining bright, so bright

Bright, so bright

Bright, so bright

And I get lost in your eyes tonight."

Auorra earned cheers, mainly from women who absolutely adored the song. Aurora bowed and gave her thanks before returning to the stage and giving Ryker a nudge, Ryker sighing exagerratingly before chuckling and making his way to the stage. However, a few women blocked his way and Ryker took quite a while before making to the stage. Aurora growled, turning to Vulcan who laughed at her expression.

"Next time, we go to a "couples only" club." she demanded.

"Doesn't mean women won't leave their men in attempt to get a grab at Ryker."

"Hell, true that. True that." Nyx remarked.

Aurora sighed and shook her head before snapping to attention when Ryker finally reached the stage. His head then tilted as Balto mentally gave a suggestion, telling Ryker what genre of a song he should sing. After a couple of seconds, Ryker nodded and grabbed the microphone whilst smiling, much to Aurora's liking. However, she knew with a small giggle he secretly wished he didn't have to. Better, he wished he wasn't on the stage at all. He hated attention, especially being the center of it.

 **"Replay, Alpha Version"**

"My love, like a melody in my head

That I can't keep out

Got me singin' like

Na na na na everyday

It's like my iPod stuck on replay, replay-ay-ay-ay [2x]-"

Ryker earned a few gasps of surprise from the group, a whoop from Balto and Ryker's accent certainly made the song much more interesting as well as more enjoyable. In fact, they even liked the changes he made, as small as they were.

"-Remember the first time we met

You were at the mall with your friends

(Aurora rolls her eyes at his careful humor though enjoying the song nonetheless.)

I was scared to approach ya

But then you came closer

Hopin' you would give me a chance

Who would have ever knew

That we would ever be more than friends

We're real worldwide, breaking all the rules

She like a song played again and again-"

A few girls cooed audibly and waved at Ryker to try and catch his attention. A few even pulled out their MP3s or iPods in response to his song.

"-That girl, like something off a poster

That girl, is a dime they say

That girl, is a gun to my holster

(Ryker shapes his hand into a gun and points it at Aurora though the majority of the crowd, the females, squealed and held their chests thinking he referred to them.)

She's running through my mind all day, ay

My love, like a melody in my head

That I can't keep out

Got me singin' like

Na na na na everyday

It's like my iPod stuck on replay, replay-ay-ay-ay [2x]

See you been all around the globe

Not once did you leave my mind

(Ryker points to his head and Aurora beamed at him)

We talk on the phone, from night til the morn

Girl you really change my life

Doing things I never do

I'm in the kitchen cooking things she likes

(He silently chuckles as he pretends to fry something in a pan, making people laugh when he finished)

We're real worldwide, breaking all the rules

Someday I gonna make you my wife

(Ryker winked at Aurora who instantly blushed a deep red, so deeply, one could see it underneath her fur)

That girl, like something off a poster

That girl, is a dime they say

That girl, is the gun to my holster

She's running through my mind all day, ay

My love, like a melody in my head

That I can't keep out

Got me singin' like

Na na na na everyday

It's like my iPod stuck on replay, replay-ay-ay-ay [2x]

(Ryker smiles and his fangs gleam brightly, a girl or two fainted)

I can be your melody

A girl I could write you a symphony

The one that could fill your fantasies

So come baby girl let's sing with me

Ay, I can be your melody

A girl I could write you a symphony

The one that could fill your fantasies

So come baby girl let's sing with me

(Ryker holds the microphone in both hands, scanning the room)

Ay, na na na na na na na

Na na na na na na

She had got me singing

Na na na na na na na

Na na na na na na na

Now she got me singing

(Ryker and Aurora make eye contact, girls coo though some noticed Aurora and glared. However, Ryker made an illusion of a giant ipod with his image within singing the chorus, instantly amazing them)

[ipod Ryker then real Ryker"

My love, like a melody in my head

That I can't keep out

Got me singin' like

Na na na na everyday

It's like my iPod stuck on replay, replay-ay-ay-ay [2x]. "


	25. Chapter 9 (DR)

**Going to 10.**

 **Chapter 9: Ammy**

Ryker bowed and the crowd broke out in chaos. To avoid the oncoming females, he had to warp to his seat at the table, receiving a hug from Aurora who kissed his cheek. Ryker chuckled and returned the kiss as the rest of the group praised him as well as each other. Eventually, they ordered a few more snacks and drinks before Vulcan patted Ryker on the shoulder, gesturing to the stage. Ryker nodded with a small chuckle and watched as Vulcan took to the stage again, waving to the crowd and earning cheers. Vulcan's previous song really riled them up, and as an effect, they couldn't wait for the next song he was about to sing.

 **"Animals-Alpha and Beta version"**

[Vulcan:]

Baby, I'm preying on you tonight

Hunt you down eat you alive

Like a pack of wolves, pack of wolves, like a pack of wolves would

Maybe you think that you can hide

I can smell your scent from miles

Like a pack of wolves, pack of wolves, like a pack of wolves would

Baby, I'm

So what you trying to do to me

It's like we can't stop we're enemies

But we get along when I'm kissing you

You're like a drug that's killing me

I cut you out entirely

But I get so high when I'm kissing you

Yeah, you can start over, you can run free

You can find other fish in the sea

You can pretend it's meant to be

But you can't stay away from me

I can still hear you making that sound

Taking me down, rolling on the ground

You can pretend that it was me

But no

Baby, I'm preying on you tonight

Hunt you down eat you alive

Like a pack of wolves, pack of wolves, like a pack of wolves would

Maybe you think that you can hide

I can smell your scent from miles

Like a pack of wolves, pack of wolves, like a pack of wolves would

Baby, I'm-

All of a sudden, a shadowed figured appeared next to Vulcan, the group was surprised and the crowd went absolutely wild when the shadows cleared away to reveal Ryker with the earpiece.

[Ryker:]

-So if I run it's not enough

You're still in my head forever stuck

So you can do what you wanna do

I love your lies, I'll eat 'em up

But don't deny my inner wolf

That comes alive when I'm run with you-

Ryker's eyes seem to bore into the audience, Aurora shivering as she felt his gaze was piercing specifically her.

-Yeah, you can start over you can run free

You can find other fish in the sea

You can pretend it's meant to be

But you can't stay away from me

I can still hear you making that sound

Taking me down rolling on the ground

You can pretend that it was me

But no

[Ryker and Vulcan together:]

Baby, I'm preying on you tonight

Hunt you down eat you alive

Like a pack of wolves, pack of wolves, like a pack of wolves would

Maybe you think that you can hide

I can smell your scent from miles

Like a pack of wolves, pack of wolves, like a pack of wolves would

Baby, I'm

Don't tell no lie-lie-lie-lie

You can't deny-ny-ny-ny

The wolf inside-side-side-side

Yeah, yeah, yeah

No, girl, don't lie-lie-lie-lie

You can't deny-ny-ny-ny

The wolf inside-side-side-side

Yeah, yeah, yeah

[Vulcan and (Ryker) :]

Yo...

Whoa...

Whoa...

Like a pack of wolves, pack of wolves, like a pack of wolves would

Like a pack of wolves, (yeah...), pack of wolves, (yeah...), a pack of wolves would, (yeah...)-

The two's eyes suddenly became predatory though Ryker's was much more so than Vulcan's. Ryker growled as Vulcan looked up, his microphone up to his lips. Vulcan then howled (-Awooooo!) and other canines of the club joined in as one.

[Ryker and Vulcan together:]

-Baby, I'm preying on you tonight

Hunt you down eat you alive

Like a pack of wolves, pack of wolves, like a pack of wolves would

Maybe you think that you can hide

I can smell your scent from miles

Like a pack of wolves, pack of wolves, like a pack of wolves would

Baby, I'm

Don't tell no lie-lie-lie-lie

You can't deny-ny-ny-ny

The wolf inside-side-side-side

Yeah, yeah, yeah

(Vulcan repeats the last few words like an echo)

No, girl, don't lie-lie-lie-lie

You can't deny-ny-ny-ny

The wolf inside-side-side-side

Yeah, yeah, yeah

 **Later...**

"That was absolutely smashing." Nyx remarked as they walked down the street. He leaned back against the air as he walked, placing his arms in a crossed fashion behind his neck while he walked.

"It was! That was a lot of fun!" Ally added, giggling as Vulcan hugged get from behind. She then noticed that Aurora was pouting, she tapped Aurora who quickly let out a giggle.

"I'm just a little disappointed that we didn't dance. Though we should do that _a lot_ more often." Aurora suggested with a sly smile, Ryker bumping into a street lamp when she did so but brushed himself off before walking as if nothing happened. Aurora then shook her head, looking at the sky to see it was still a bit passed morning, maybe around 10 o'clock or so. She turned to Ryker, nudging him and getting. Nyx's attention. "When should we go? It's early out and maybe we can see Professor Oak before his schedule gets full."

Ryker checked his time and nodded, Nyx almost shivering in excitement for he never went on a League journey before, he never had a trainer before as well. "I think that's a good idea. What do you think, Nyx?" Ryker asked.

"We should go now! What are waiting for?" Nyx replied immediately. Ryker and Aurora laughed and Nyx meekly scratched the back of his head. Ryker then nodded, transforming into his human form. He then noticed his reflection, noting his long hair and growing beard. Ryker waved his hand in front of his face, covering it with a shadow before waving once more, clearing the shadow. It revealed that his hair was cut, styled into a spiky though not all over the place hairstyle that only reached the nape of his neck. His beard was shaved though kept to the point it ironically made him look wolfish.

At that moment, Nyx returned to his pokémon form. Aurora did as well, stretching and yawning afterwards. She then walked up to Ryker, nudging him with a wing. Being in **Altered Form** , her wing somewhat hit Ryker's face though he didn't take notice of it.

"Do you still have my pokéball?" she asked. Aurora then smiled as Ryker pulled out her unique pokéball, Nyx looked at it whilst wondering if he'll get his own custom ball as well.

"Of course I do. Do you want to hold onto it?" Ryker asked though received a shake of the head from Aurora who looked at Nyx.

"No, it's fine. I was just curious. So, why don't we get you a pokéball, Nyx?" she asked. Nyx excitedly nodded and the three turned to the rest of the group, giving smiles. "Looks like we'll see you guys later then." Aurora said.

Vulcan walked up to her and hugged her, then did the same with Ryker though had difficulty doing so with Nyx who was quite small though large than the average Umbreon. "You guys be careful, you hear? There's still some hit groups and thugs from the disbanded Team Rocket." Vulcan told them, winking at them though gave a pointed look to Ryker.

"What?" Ryker replied, feigning being offended. "I don't just get into trouble. Trouble usually finds me."

"You got that right." Balto muttered though a twitch of the ear from Ryker silenced him with a small laugh. Balto and Jenna then proceeded to bade their farewell to the departing three, Ally soon doing the same after them. After that, the four left and Ryker checked his phone, putting it away after he read a notification.

"Crikey, you have a phone?! Nevermind, what is it?" Nyx wondered.

"Oak coincidentally sent all trainers a reminder about renewing their licenses. Let's go before it's too late." Ryker replied, opening a dark portal for them. They walked through, the portal silently disappearing though a few people wondered what was that all about.

 **At an abandoned warehouse...**

"Move it! Now! Listen and I won't cut off your tail!" the poacher shouted before kicking a small animal. The animal, having white fur with strange red markings, crashed into the hallway wall and whined. The little wolf pup cried even harder, only being about three months old. She had already witnessed her parents death and now, the poacher was taking her for who knows why. The pup weakly got up, its chest bruised and blood escaping her lip, and walked down the hallway as the man indicated.

The man took her into a room, one of which was full of empty cages. The pup was scared to death, seeing bloodstains on the cages as well as on other spots in the room. At the other end of the room, a burly man sat behind a desk going through a large wad of money. The burly man looked up, seeing the poacher walk in with the incredible scared and defenseless pup.

"What have you got there?" the man asked, leaning forward on his desk. He then raised an eyebrow as the poacher indicated the red markings on the tiny pup.

"It's obviously not a normal wolf. See these markings? It's probably a new species of pokémon or something. Plus, its had magical powers, they fought back with fire, ice, and lightning. Who knows? I'd bet you could teach this one how to take an anthro form and use it as your personal fuck toy." the poacher explained.

The burly man scratched his chin, inspecting the wolf pup. Fortunately, the pup didn't understand a word they were saying for if she did, she would be squeaking in fear. The pup was only three months old, canine body language was the only thing she knew. She didn't even know how to talk to her parents, back when they were still alive. Knowing they were now dead, the pup would never know what name her parents had given her. As for the poacher, she only understood the poacher by his body language, kicking her and smacking her was enough for her to understand. The man then nodded, picking up the pup who didn't bother to resist, having already given up. The man threw her into a cage, locking it then taking a small wad of cash.

"This enough?" the man asked with a laugh.

"It sure is." the poacher replied, laughing as well as he took the money. He then waved and took off, leaving without another word. The man walked up to the pup, shaking the cage and causing her to yelp in fear.

"I got big plans for you. Make sure you stay tight down there." the man sneered, his rancid breath making the pup turn away and cower in the corner. The man bellowed and sat back in his chair, turning on his laptop and making some purchases on the Web. "Let's see... Some shackles, whips, gags, oh! There's anal plugs. Well now, won't we have fun?"

The man then got up and picked up his phone, dialing his friend's number. He walked out of the room and went down the stairs, finding the vending machine and putting some change in it. He inputted a code and a soda can fell out, landing in his hands. He then opened it with his thumb and index finger before the line on the other end opened up.

"Stoaks! How are you, you little bastard!" the receiver answered with a small laugh.

"Just fine, you bitch! And you, James?" the man, Stoaks asked. He then took a sip from his soda and burped, licking his lips as some drops of soda dripped.

"Great! Jessie and I just got out of the hotel room! And man, Magnum works! These things don't break like the other rubbers. Even Meowth was in on it." James replied.

"What do you mean, "Magnum?" They wouldn't fit you, those are the large sizes!" Stoaks replied with a hearty laugh.

"That's cold, man."

In the room, the pup began to shake. Not due to fear, but she was really cold. She wiped the tears from her amber eyes, then straightening out her fur whilst hoping that doing so would help her get warmer. As she did this, she eyed her strange markings. They were red, as mentioned, and looked as if someone tool a paintbrush to her fur. There were red spiraled circles on her shoulders and at one end of the line, the line that started the spirals, the red marking lined her shoulder blades and ended there. Her sides had lines that swirled and ended in spirals on her hind legs. Her tail also had red lines, streaking on every two or three strands of fur. There were small spirals on her ankles as well as a large red arrow-like line on the center of her back. On her forehead, a line branched off into two and made a large circle before reconnecting ending an inch or so short of the bridge of her muzzle. The tufts of fur on her ankles, shoulders, and hips were curled up like tiny balls of flame, the ones on her shoulders large than the ones on her hips which were larger than the ones on her ankles.

The pup closed her eyes, tears threatening to fall again. She then gave in and began to cry again, covering her face with her paws. Her ears flattened and her tail curled up beside her.

 **(flashback)**

 _The three ran through the forest, the mother holding her pup in her mouth. The father turned his head around to see the a man in camouflage garb aiming a weapon at him. He then turned his head back around, ducking as a gunshot cracked behind him. The bullet whizzed passed him and splintered a branch ahead of him, prompting them to turn in a different direction._

 _ **Hurry! Turn here!**_ _the father told his mate, turning right though unfortunately leading them to a dead end. The two froze with dread and the pup, whose eyes were closed the entire time, opened her eyes whole wondering if the terrible ordeal was over._

 _The sound of footsteps reached their ears and they turned to see the poacher, a rifle in the man's hands. He took aim, his prey looking at each other in worry before attacking him with... fire? The man screamed as he dove to the right, the fire scorching the trees behind him. He got up and looked to see a flaming green disk above each of the adult wolves' backs. The flames around the green disks then turned into crystals and suddenly, hail began to fall and the poacher quickly ran to find cover under a fallen tree. However, he quickly ran out and ducked as the Gail stopped and two bolts of lightning struck the tree. The poacher aimed his rifle at the wolves, the disks now surrounded by electricity. The man then pulled the trigger, hitting the male first. The male creature howled with pain as blood began to spill from his neck. He fell to the ground, panting heavily as more blood gushed from his wound. The final adult whined as she ran over, setting her pup down before nuzzling the male. The father of the pup weakly cranes his neck up and locked the muzzle of his mate, doing he same to his pup whose eyes were wide with fear and full with tears. The male adult then fell limp, his tongue retreated back into his mouth which overflowed with blood._

 _The man reloaded his rifle, aiming only to see the mother growling and jumping at him, her fangs aimed for his throat. The poacher cried out in surprise and held up his rifle in defense, catching the female. They tumbled to the ground and the female bit at his arms, tearing away the clothes though not getting close to the skin. The poacher let out a huff before taking out a hunting knife, arcing it toward her side. The mother saw it in the corner of her eye but it was too late, for he disembowled her with a simple raking motion. The mother stopped, the pup crying out in emotional agony. The mother slowly swayed back and forth before finally falling to her side, much like her mate. She looked at her pup as her life force began to dwindle away._

 _ **Remember that we'll always love you, even of we're not here.**_ _the pup's mother told her before her eyes glazed over, her breathing ceased and her body moved no more._

 _The pup cried waterfalls, covering her eyes as she heard the poacher approach her. After that, she felt a blunt impact to her head and she blacked out._

 **(flashback end)**

 _M-M-M *whine*.. D-D-*whine*.._ the pup thought to herself, her attempt at forming her first words echoed in her head with a sense of sadness.

 **Pallet Town...**

"Coming!" Professor Oak shouted, putting his belt on as he ran towards the sound of knocking at his door. He tripped and fell, landing face-first and sliding some distance, stopping just short of the door. He recovered and jumped up, finally buckling his belt together before opening the door. He was surprised to see the black-haired man from Zenith of whom he had not seen for about a few years. "Alpha! How are you, my lad?"

Ryker smiled and shook the aging man's hand, surprising Oak by his... amiable attitude. "Great, Professor, thank you. And you?" Ryker asked as Oak led him in.

"Likewise! So, earned many badges?" Oak asked as they took a seat. Ryker chuckled and shook his head, he fished his badge case out to reveal that he, in fact, had none. This nearly made Oak drop his jaw in surprise though the old man quickly recovered before doing so.

"Actually, I have not participated in a single pokémon battle with another trainer since you gave me this license. The truth is, I had to get this license to investigate an island of which, I had to make sure was safe." Ryker replied.

"I see. May I ask what you were investigating for?" Oak asked, his curiosity showing.

"Mrs. Jeanne Alph. The world's most authoratative judge? She issues orders that are absolute?" Ryker replied, shock was plastered all over Oak's face.

" _The_ Judge Alph? Of course! Forgive me, I didn't know."

"No, no, it's my fault. I should have let you know. Professor Oak, I'm planning to actually challenge the League starting today. May you please renew my license before it expires?" Ryker replied.

Oak smiled and nodded, taking Ryker's pokédex and updating it. After a few moments, Oak widened his eyes and returned the pokédex to its owner. "My! You've encountered nearly all of the region's pokémon already, even those that aren't native here! Amazing work, Mr. Fang."

"Thanks though I did travel around a lot. It was hard not to encounter a lot of pokémon." Ryker said, thinking about his time in the Beacon which was filled with many, MANY, different species of pokémon.

Oak then nodded and stood up, offering his hand to Ryker who shook it with a smile. "Well, you're all set. Thanks for visiting Mr. Fang, especially before my lab gets crowded."

"Not a problem, Professor, I'll make sure to refer to you when I'm interviewed by the press when I'm at the top of the League." Ryker responded with a laugh, Oak laughing heartily as well as they shook hands.

They gave their goodbyes and Ryker left the lab, activating his pokédex. He then searched for his species as well as Aurora's, finding that there was no entry about Fenrir though a small piece of history about the Akirari. He nodded with satisfaction, taking out his phone and revealing an encrypted signal. He smiled, putting the phone back before Aurora materialised next to him in a flash of blue, Nyx landing next to her from his perch above the lab.

"So that's what it's for." Nyx said, eyeing Ryker's pocket.

Ryker nodded, giving Nyx a silencing gesture before pulling out a Dusk Ball. Nyx recoiled at the sight, finding the green color to be revolting. "Don't worry," Ryker told the Umbreon, "I'll change the color to your likes. You have to get captured first though."

Nyx nodded as Ryker tossed the Dusk Ball to the ground next to Nyx, a dark purple flash emitted from the ball before Nyx was sacked into it. After a single shake, signaling a critical capture, the ball flew returned back to Ryker's hand. He then covered the ball with both hands, then removing one of his hands to reveal a black pokéball with a glowing sapphire blue top along with a black stripe across the middle. Ryker then released Nyx, the Umbreon cheering as he was pleased with the new look of his pokéball.

"Satisfactory?" Ryker asked with a chuckle.

"Fucking ace!" Nyx replied, earning more laughter from the other two. Ryker then looked over at Aurora, stroking her head as she rested it on his shoulder.

"You might want to get in your **Altered Form.** That way, we won't attract as much attention, both positive and negative." Ryker advised. Aurora nodded and did as he told her, then the two looked over at Nyx. "You may want to refrain from using your wings. You should keep them hidden unless we're in a drastic situation."

"Got it. Planned out everything, haven't you? A critical thinker, you are."

"Naturally. Now, let's get to Viridian. Our first badge awaits us there." Ryker told them and they made their way to the other end of the town. As they got near the exit, they spotted brown-haired man talking to an Arcanine in her anthro form. The two, they noticed, were talking as if they were worried about something.

The boy had glittering blue eyes, a snall scar lined his face. He had short, spiky hair that blew in the wind. He wore a dark-red jacket atop a yellow shirt. Along with blue jeans, he had a red pokétch on his right wrist as well as a hat that he wore backwards, his hair sticking out in a tuft through the gap in the back of the cap. He wore black gloves with red-plated knuckles and black tennis shoes, his whole attire matching almost perfectly.

The Arcanine was wearing a black yukata with a flame graphic on the front. On the back, there was a red rose that was bordered with silver. The Arcanine was curvy, having an hourglass figure like Aurora though lacked as much muscle. She had wavy yellow hair that reached the middle of her back and her hair covered one of her eyes. She had orange-red eyes that showed a fierce personality. However, she was talking to the man in a loving manner, fiddling with her wooden sword, a bokutō. However, as the three approached, she turned on them with a growl whilst raising her weapon. Her expression immediately changed though upon looking into the eyes of The Alpha. She instantly lowered her sword and allowed a small and inaudible whine.

"Oh, sorry about that. She's very protective, we dealt with Team Rocket in the past so Sissy's kinda jumpy." the man told them.

"That's fine, it's very understandable. After all, I have no doubt she cares about you." Ryker replied. He then stopped, giving the man a look. Unfortunately, the man didn't notice since he was eyeing Aurora with awe.

Aurora,who couldn't help herself, inwardly giggled looked at Nyx, the two nodding before returning their look to the man and opening their mouths. "HI there." they said in unison.

The man nearly jumped at hearing them talking even though they weren't in anthro form. Ryker, however, quickly intervened before things got into a questionnaire. "You said that you had troubles with Team Rocket?" Ryker asked, getting Sissy's and the man's attention.

"Yeah," the man replied, "they wanted to kill me, I'm Matt by the way, and Sissy because we took down one of their Kings. Plus, we used to have someone in our group who used to work for them. They wanted to kill him for being a traitor, he used to be a Shadow Assassin."

Team Rocket had a monarchy of a sort. There were the grunts, the lowest rank, then the Captains, the Admins, the Shadow Assasins (an optional job that is consider higher ranking than Admins), and Kings. There were five Kings in total, two now due to Giovanni and Sakurai dying and apparently Matt's claim that he took one down with his group.

"My name is Alpha. I was family certain they had disbanded after Giovanni died. Then even more so after Sakurai... Where's the rest of your group?" Ryker replied.

"Well," Matt said as he scratched his head, "it's a long story."

Matt then led the group a little outside the town, finding a tress stump to sit on. He then looked around to see if anyone was listening in, for some reason completely trusting Ryker.

"You see, I'm not from here. Not "here", as in Kanto, but "here" as in I'm from a different dimension where pokémon didn't exist. There was one day when I was arguing with my ex, Rachel's her name, and left the house. I went to my good friend Otto's and found he wasn't there. Otto is a genius. He invents a bunch of things for the military and stuff and now, he's a millionaire. When I went inside his house, I found this pod thing and decided to check it out. Now, it wasn't the smartest idea but I don't regret it," Matt looked at Sissy, smiling. Sissy blushed and smiled back, holding his hand. "I went inside to take a closer look at it. Then, I accidentally pushed- you no what? Fuck it. I found a red button and for some reason, my mind screamed for me to push it when I know for a fact that a red button means "Don't push." Instantly, there was a bright flash and I found myself in that house over there." He indicated a house in the center of town. "The woman who lived there, she goes by "Mom", attacked me in self-defense. Sissy here came in her aid and attacked me too but after begging for them to hear me out, they stopped and listened to my story."

Matt then looked at the three, surprised to find that they didn't look skeptical or anything. Rather, they were straight-faced and Nyx was nodding his head as he listened. Matt couldn't believe that they believed him but hey, Mom and Sissy believed him, the latter after a few near-death experiences and being convinced by his friends.

"At first," Sissy began ad she cleared her throat, "I didn't like him at all. In fact, I hated him. What was worse, Mom made him my new trainer and asked me to go with him on a journey to find Bill, the inventor. The goal was for Bill to transport Matt back to his own dimension. So, we headed off. The first few days, I refused to eat any food offered by Matt. After starving myself and nearly dying after a battle with a Ratticate, I was a Growlith at the time, he forced me to eat. We then caught a Meowth, Emie, who was actually a little slow, if you know what I mean. We went to a diner then did this and that and eventually, I got kidnapped by these thugs. Matt came with Emie and Steel, the Ratticate of whom we captured, and they fought off an entire warehouse's worth of thugs. Mate saved me and that's when I softened up to him a bit. Later, we got into another fight and I left the hotel we were staying in. I told him I hated him though really, I fell in love with him."

Nyx and Aurora were at full attention now, their eyes wide and their heads frozen as if moving would cut off their hearing. Ryker leaned against a tree, stretching his neck.

"Then," Sissy continued, "there was a night when I heard him crying while everyone else was asleep. He poured his heart out to me, saying he had a lot of regrets and such. It was at that moment I apologized to him. Then, a bright flash went off in the room and his ex, Rachel, appeared out of nowhere. They argued for some reason and then, she went along with us on our journey. We left for the next town and on the way, we found an airstrip with a hanger. On our way, Otto appeared and all five of us went. We recruited Bomber, now a Pidgeot, and then went to Pewter City. However, along the way, we also recruited Lawrence, a Gengar, who saved us from being harvested by a bunch of Hauntars. Shade, a rogue Hauntar, helped us too and we barely escaped with Matt nearly dying after being nailed to the chair. This reckless guy escaped by pulling the nails out of his hands, crawling since they bashed in his knee with a hammer, and fought with the rest of us. We escaped after the fight and went to Pewter in a rush because Matt passed out. There, we met up with Kevin and Darell, the latter being the ex-Shadow Assasin we were taking about. We hung out and eventually, the road ahead closed down and we were stuck in Pewter. Matt regained consciousness at that time after being healed in the Daisy Machine (healing machine) and that's when I revealed my feelings for him. We got together, as you can see and now, we're here. We visited Mom since it's been a whole and you know the rest. As for the rest of our group, the rest of them went their own separate ways. They don't feel like finishing the journey since it's kind of not their thing." Sissy finished with a heavy exhale.

"Sounds like you've been through quite a lot, Matt, Sissy. What do you plan to do now?" Aurora remarked with a shake of the head.

"A bit of an understatement there." Matt replied with a chuckle. "Well, we're going to continue our journey and hopefully, take down Team rocket once and for all."

"A good goal, a very good one. I would advise against doing so but since you had your experience with them, I won't. How about I go with you? We all dealt with Team Rocket before, we took out Giovanni and Sakurai actually." Ryker suggested, earning surprised looks from the two.

"You guys took them both out?" Sissy asked, baffled. She looked at them as Ryker nodded. Ryker then looked at his two partners, he had expected to them to nod as well but instead, they pointed at him.

"You took them out? By yourself? I'm pretty sure Giovanni died by a fire accident, burns worst than third-degree." Matt asked, somewhat skeptical.

"Well," Ryker responded whilst looking down, "I had help with Sakurai. As for Giovanni... Eh." He then opened his palm, a ball of **Void Fire** appearing in his hand. Matt and Sissy got up in surprise, nearly knocking into each other. Aurora and Nyx were surprised too, they didn't expect Ryker to trust them with that much information. "You trusted us enough to tell us your entire story, I suspect it's not easy trusting random strangers when you're being hunted by Team Rocket. Let me reintroduce myself, I am Ryker Fang, a Knight of Alph. Though I'm not assigned to any quests by Lord or Lady Arceus, I'd be glad to tag along on your journey if you'd let me."

Matt looked at Sissy, both having expressions of incredulity. They then looked as Aurora gained their attention. "I am Lady Akirari, though you could just call me Aurora if you like. You may not know this, but I'm a Legendary of the Council. You won't be able to find any information about me because I'm an entirely new species of really ancient legend, one that even your best translators can't decrypt." Aurora told them, further shocking them.

"Name's Nyx, my chums, I'm a Knight of Arceus. Pleasure to meet the lot of you." Nyx added, his accent somewhat calming Matt and Sissy for some reason.

Matt looked at them, turning to Ryker with a small chuckle. "Kinda a lot to take it but hey, the more the merrier. Am I right?" Matt told them, shaking Ryker's hand. When he did, Ryker noticed more scars on the man's body, specifically a small hole-shaped one on Matt's side. Ryker wouldn't have noticed if it wasn't for Matt shaking his hand, the act lifted his jacket and shirt a little.

"Just don't complain if Team Rocket ends up finding us." Sissy joked, earning a small chorus of laughter from the group. After settling down, they left Pallet Town and deeper into the forest towards Viridian.

Ryker look to his right, seeing Aurora look around as they went further into the forest. He wondered what she was looking for and sent his thoughts to her. _I'm just trying to find something interesting._ she told him with a laugh. Ryker shook his head with an amused smile before looking ahead where. NYC was chatting with Matt and Sissy.

Ryker took his phone out, receiving an emergency notification from the network. He turned the volume low, so low, that it was to the point only he and maybe Aurora can hear.

"There's been a slight decrease in the forest population this past week." a reporter announced from the phone, "Rumors have it that there has been poachers running around lately. We thought the problem was solved when we turned to the police, however, after they combed the area, they unfortunately did not find a single clue. Even the townspeople pitched in and searched all buildings here in Viridian City. Again, they did not find any evidence of poachers or as to why the decrease in population of the animals and pokémon in the forest. This is Kanto News reporting with a message: Keep your pets and pokémon within your sight. If you find anything suspicious that relates anything to the problem of Viridian, please notify the authorities."

Ryker frowned and sniffed the air, finding surprisingly a lot less scents than there were the last time he was there. He was suddenly nudged by Aurora who had a concerned look. "Looks like there's trouble already. How many do you think there is left in the forest?" she asked him.

"Well, judging by the potency of the scents, I'd say about 4/5 of the population is still here. We shouldn't worry too much though, it's only a slight decrease and the population will grow in time." Ryker replied as Aurora nodded.

"Hey guys, the sun's going down. I don't think we'll make it to Viridian before night falls. What do you say to camping out here?" Matt asked, taking off his pokéinfinite bag, a bag with the ability to store as many things as one would like... to a point.

The rest of them looked up to see that it was indeed sundown. Another hour or so, the sun would be completely out of sight only to be replaced by the moon and the stars. Ryker considering warping the group there though dismissed the thought when Aurora mentally told him that she wouldn't mind camping out, she preferred it anyway. Ryker preferred sleeping outside as well, given he was one of the wild, but he had thought that they should reach the next city as soon as they can. Ryker shrugged, figuring that he wouldn't mind if the whole journey took a while longer than it could be.

"Sure thing, I'll help you set up the tent." Aurora replied to Matt as she transformed into her anthro form. As she walked over to help him, Ryker went up to a dying tree and grabbed the bark with a hand. He then tightened his grip, splintering the bark into fair-sized planks. Ryker picked up the firewood and went back to the group, setting the kindling in the center of their camp. He was then handed rocks by Nyx who had the same idea. Ryker thanked him and set the rocks in a medium-sized circle, placing the firewood within in a standing position, much like Matt's tent which was finally finished. Nyx then placed some dry leaves underneath as well as a crumpled up newspaper that he found nearby. Littering, in this case, helped them.

"Nice campfire setup." Matt remarked as he and Aurora walked up to the two. They were followed by Sissy who stole wary glances at Ryker, the latter simply nodded which was barely noticeable and Sissy sat stood rigidly.

"Almost done." Ryker told them before walking over to the same dying tree he found earlier. The rest of the group began to talk, only to be interrupted by a large, crashing noise. They turned to see Ryker walking back with three logs in his arms. Matt recovered from the shock and ran over to Ryker, grabbing a log and taking some of the load off. Matt set the log down in front of his tent, gesturing for Sissy to sit on it. She did so and he joined her, watching as Ryker set down the other two. Nyx, who had some issues with personal space, took a log for himself and began tending to his fur. Aurora sat on the last log and Ryker started the fire, stepping back as the flames roared though slowly ate away at the wood as was his will.

"Thank you for helping us set up camp. Though I must ask, are we going to bring these logs with us? Or are you just going to make new ones everything we make camp?" Sissy announced carefully as if she didn't want to enrage The Alpha.

"I'll take these with us and store them in my dimensional storage and take them out when we need them. We won't have to worry about them rotting, if you're also wondering that." Ryker replied.

Sissy nodded as Matt fished out some freshly made sandwiches Mom had given him back at Pallet Town. He handed one to Sissy who gratefully took it, nearly forgetting about her hunger. Matt tried to offer some to the rest of the group but was surprised to find that Ryker wasn't there, the black-haired Knight gone without a trace. "Where did he go?" Matt asked.

"Hunting for the blooming deer in the forest." Nyx answered as he stretched. "The three of us prefer our meals fresh."

"He hunts?"

"All the time. He hunts every time we eat though the only exception is when we're going out to a restaurant or something similar." Aurora replied.

"Won't he need help?" Sissy asked, oblivious to the fact that she already knew the answer deposit within with her instincts going haywire.

"Nah, he can handle it. I wouldn't be surprised if he brought back a rhinoceros... Crikey, that's a hilarious image." Nyx responded as he began to laugh.

"There's no rhinos in Kanto, Nyx." Aurora interjected with a roll of the eyes.

"Well... Something of that nature then, a hippopotamus or whatever!" Nyx replied in an attempt to avert his embarrassment a little. The three looked at him, all with straight faces. "Oy! What's the problem?" They didn't answer so Nyx wondered what they were doing but when the answer dawned on him, he facepalmed and glared at them. "Oh my, Arceus fine! A Wailmer then, you cheeky bastards!"

The three began to laugh at him with Nyx soon joining in. His poor knowledge at animal habitat brightened their moods and Nyx was suddenly glad that he could take a joke. Else, he would probably be yelling a stream of insults at them, friends or not. However, he wouldn't dare do say in front of Ryker for the Fenrir would skin him alive... At least, that's what Nyx thought.

"Mom's sandwiches are always so divine!" Sissy remarked as she took another bite from her meal, already on her third sandwich. Matt laughed when he saw a piece of her food on her cheek, wiping it off with a finger and causing Sissy to blush madly.

"Well," Matt said as he laughed at Sissy's pouting face which was only pretend, "Mom packed a bunch and I mean A BUNCH. If you want more, you can help yourself. If I remember correctly, Mom used to work at a butchery, right?" Sissy nodded as the thought of her former trainer taking a knife to meat crossed her mind. "She probably has connections then. It would explain so much... including the fact that her aim was nearly dead on when she threw the knife at me when we first met." Matt added, thinking of the incident nearly a quarter of a year back.

They then turned to see Ryker appearing with two Numels in his arms. Ryker set them down, skinned them, and placed one on a makeshift tray atop the campfire. He knew Nyx liked his food cooked well-done and that Aurora did as well. However, Numel wasn't going to be her meal. Ryker then gave Aurora a de-scaled Magikarp, they didn't see it at first due to it being under one of the Numels when he was carrying it over. Aurora thanked him twice, once for hunting for them and another for removing the scales, and waited for Ryker to serve Nyx who thanked him as well.

"That sure didn't take a while." Matt remarked as the three began earing, cooking his head at the sight of Ryker eating raw camel meat.

"The Numels were wandering around close by. There was also a slow stream and the Magikarp I caught was caught in a bowl of rocks. They were all in the same vicinity so it didn't really take that much of an effort." Ryker replied.

Matt was about to ask why Ryker was eating his meal raw though he decided not to, figuring it was maybe because of Ryker's status as a Knight of Alpha which probably came with a few perks... or quirks. Anyways, by the time they finished eating, the moon was up and the stars twinkled with a sense of wonder. Matt pulled out a large thermos from his pack, opening the cap to reveal tea inside. He offered it to everyone and they gladly accepted, each having their own cup thanks to Matt who had extras in his pack. The tea was still warm, steam could be seen in the night. When they finished and handed the cups back to Matt, he and Sissy pulled out a sleeping bag and laid it out in the tent. Nyx simply sprouted his wings and rested on a branch of the tree behind him, sighing as he leaned against the trunk and absorbed some of the moonlight. Aurora was resting on Ryker's lap, though she looked up with worry when she saw that Ryker wasn't going to sleep.

"I'll be keeping watch, Aurora. Rest and you'll see me here in the same spot in the morning." Ryker told her in an assuring tone.

"You want to take shifts? We can rotate through the night." Aurora offered. She was then disappointed to see Ryker shake his head, though her mood improved a little when he smiled at her.

"Don't worry. It won't be like last time where I'll go off on my own. The moment I sense danger, bandits or Team Rocket, I'll wake you up, alright?" he told her. Aurora sighed and nodded, silently wishing that he didn't take on burdensome tasks such as this on his own. She rested her head against his chest, listening to his calming heartbeats. She then closed her eyes as she felt Ryker's warm hand caress the back of her head in a soothing stroking motion. Within minutes, she fell asleep with content.

"Good night, everyone." Matt said in a low tone. Ryker simply nodded and Nyx replied with quiet snores as Matt smiled before he reentered his tent. Matt then zipped up the fold and got into the sleeping bag with Sissy who was waiting for him with a smile.

Sissy handed Matt a remote, confusing him as the remote was made to make his tent soundproof, drawing out their noises from the outside world. Matt pressed it as he gave Sissy a questioning look. "I'm sorry Matt, it's just that I saw Ryker and Aurora lying down together and it made me feel... needy for lack of a better word." Sissy told him. At this, Matt began chuckling and he rubbed the back of one of her ears, earning a growl of pleasure from Sissy.

"I see. Don't worry, honey, I'll take care of your.. neediness." Matt replied as Sissy blushed at his words. He slowly undid Sissy's yukata, setting it in a neat folded fashion on the floor next to them. He then chuckled as Sissy undid his clothes, throwing his hat to the side and placing the rest of his clothes in a pile next to her Yukata. Matt took a sneaking glance at Sissy, finding her eye-catching breasts and her adorable tail which wagged slowly the more he caressed her body.

"I'm sorry." Sissy suddenly told him.

"Hm?"

Sissy grabbed her breasts and gave them a small squeeze, unintentionally giving Matt a full on election. "These are small compared to Aurora's." she said as if ashamed. However, she gasped as Matt slowly slid a finger into her, quivering as he slowly pumped into her dripping hole.

"How may times do I have to tell you, Sissy? You are beautiful. Beautiful and very sexy." Matt whispered to her in a husky tone.

Matt then silenced her by kissing her, Sissy melting into the kiss as their tongues mingled and tried to fight for dominance. All the way, Matt was fingering her expertly as they exchanged saliva. A few more moments of this, Matt found that he was losing the tongue battle. At this, he upped the ante on fingering Sissy and gained more dominance as Sissy moaned into his mouth, her tongue faltering a bit. Matt inwardly chuckled and groped her rump with his other hand, squeezing one cheek and slapping it lightly. Sissy instantly whined, her ears folding back as she tried to take the pleasure. Matt then disconnected with Sissy's lips and instead, latched onto one of her breasts like a newborn pup. He nibbled the bud lightly and circled it with his tongue, earning a loud moan which was fortunately blocked out from the others.

"Matt... " Sissy moaned, returning the favor by stroking his member. She then began to pump it, varying her speed and grip from time to time." Can't let you have all the fun." Sissy added as she pleasure him.

Matt, however, didn't let up. He continued to give her breasts attention, now fondling the other with his free hand. Sissy clenched her teeth as his ministrations gave her a wondrous feeling, she unintentionally tightened her grip a little and caused Matt to take a sharp intake of air. Fortunately, her grip wasn't too hard but instead, it felt better to him. Matt then suckled harder on Sissy's breast, switching to the other and doing the same. He kept up the routine until he felt her hands on his chest. Matt looked up to see Sissy give him a wanting expression, the former nodding as he understood why. Sissy fell in love with his eyes, his beautiful blue eyes... She wanted him inside her... The sooner the better. Matt surprised her by lifting her up by her rump. He then kissed her muzzle as he lowered her onto him, his member easily slides in due to her cavern already completely moist. Sissy moaned as they halted, looking down at Matt to see a wide grin on his face. However, the grin faltered and turned into a mixed expression of bliss when Sissy tightened her hips, squeezing him inside her. Matt narrowed his eyes at her, returning the favor by giving her a powerful thrust which caused her to cry out and close her eyes. Her ears were repeatedly canting back and forth which was an adorable sight for Matt. Speaking of adorable, he felt her tail swish back and forth speedily, the fur tickling his thighs a bit with every movement. Matt then slowly began to thrust to pump into her, the steady pace actually satisfying them. Sissy rocked back and forth, a small sliding noise of skin against skin sounded whenever she made contact with his pelvis. Eventually, the pleasure overcame their patience and they began to speed up.

Sissy was riding Matt cowgirl style, moaning as she gripped his chest with her hands. Matt groaned and grabbed her rump again, meeting her descents with his own thrusts. Every few seconds, he would either grab or slap her but whilst varying his strength and whichever cheek he slapped. Sometimes, he would crane his head up and latch onto one of her breasts, the act slowing their pace a little but pleasurable nonetheless. He would also trail his tongue across her stomach at times, earning shivers from the Arcanine who bounced harder and faster as time passed.

Eventually, Matt met his climax and ejected his seed into her, warming her midsection and filling her womb. Matt didn't have as much endurance as Sissy did but he could still pleasure her to the max. He continued to pump into her at a rapid speed, spurting some more of his essence into her cavern. Sissy moaned and leaned forward, still bouncing in him as her pleasure rose as the seconds went by. Finally, she cried out his name as she came all over his hips, dousing the floor with their juices and causing a small puddle to form underneath them. They panted heavily with exhaustion, basking in the afterglow of their activity. Matt then reached up with a hand and caressed her face, kissing her on her nose and giving her a smile.

"Hey, you're always going to be my girl no matter what. You're never ugly or unsatisfying to me, Sissy. Remember, you're my flame of life. Never forget that." Matt told her in a soothing tone. Sissy was silent for a moment before tearing up and hugging him tightly, crying and sobbing his name as he gently patted her back. Finally, their fatigue caught up to them and the two feel asleep, hips still interlocked and smiles plastered on their faces.

The next morning, a while after dawn to be exact, Matt rose from his slumber and went outside. He was only sporting his boxers but he didn't care, he enjoyed the cool breeze of the forest. He yawned and stretched, noticing that Ryker was already awake though Matt that he had just woken up as well. "Early riser, huh?" Matt asked, earning a nod from Ryker.

"I'm usually gone by now to train, but I kept watch last night in case we run into trouble." Ryker replied, opening his mouth and giving something that would be barely considered a yawn. Polite and as mannered Ryker was, he was still capable of easing up once in a while. He then looked to see Matt give him a shake of the head.

"Man, you could've asked me to take watch too. At least then you could've got some sleep. In fact, why don't you right now? I just woke up and probably won't fall asleep anytime soon." Matt suggested. Ryker considered the option and looked down at Aurora who was moving in her sleep, she then smiled and hugged his waist tighter before falling still again. Ryker looked at Matt and nodded, giving a small smile.

"I would appreciate that. Just notify me when you spot danger." Ryker replied, Matt nodding in agreement with a smile as well. Ryker then relaxed himself, leaning his head against the tree behind him and closing his eyes. It took a while, but eventually Ryker fell asleep, his body barely moving with his silent breathing.

 **Warehouse...**

"Rise and shine, come on. Eat up, I don't want you dying on me, especially when I plan to "eat" you." Stoaks shouted with a laugh, throwing a small handful of beef jerky at the awakening pup. She shook her head, recalling the events of the previous day. She felt like she was going to cry again but didn't, instead ignoring the man and the small amount of food. "Hey, eat." Stoaks told her. The pup didn't even hear him, lost in her own world. In fact, she somewhat resembled Ryker. Her expression was emotionless, her eyes were distant, and her body barely moving.

Stoaks waved his hand and yelled "Bah", turning away from the pup and walking back to his laptop. He fished a pair of earphones from his pocket and plugged them in to his laptop as he sat behind his desk. "Gotta get rid of this stress." he joked before logging in to a website. He scrolled down the screen, smiling as advertisements of pokémon in their anthro from being pounced into by men or other pokémon flashed on his screen.

His eyebrows suddenly raised when he spotted a video he thought he would like. It consisted of a slutty Ninetales surrounded by a gang of men. The foxglove pokémon opened her mouth as the surrounding men masturbated to her as she finger ed herself and fondled her breasts. Then, all the men climaxed at once and ropes of their seed splattered onto the Ninetales' face, some landing in her mouth while others sprayed her breasts. She moaned in delight whilst smearing the mess all over herself, flicking out her tongue to kick at the ones that were near or on her lips. Stoaks grinned as the men, five to be exact, closed the distance between them and the Ninetales. The Ninetales leaned forward as a man got underneath her. Another man took his position behind her while a third was postponed on his knees in front of her breasts. The remaining two took their places on each side of her face, their members twitching as she began to lick them, switching back and forth as well as milking them with her mouth from time to time.

Stoaks grinned as he pulled out a tool from his pocket, a flashlight. The object was shaped almost exactly like a flashlight though instead of a light bulb at the end, there was a soft pink material that was designed to look and feel like that of a female's womanhood. Stoaks poured in some warm water from a bottle and unzipped his pants, pulling out his member as he watched the video.

The scene was already in its climax, so to speak. The man behind the Ninetales was thrusting into her tail hole while the man underneath her pumped into her moist cavern. Her breasts were occupied by the man on his knees, she was massaging his member with squeezing motions of her breasts and at some points, she would poke at the urethra of the man's member with her nipples, increasing his pleasure as well as her own. The two on her sides were stroking themselves as the Ninetales returned to what's she doing earlier, kicking and suckling their members and sometimes deepthroating them.

At this point, Stoaks was furiously pleasuring himself with his private possession. Fluids began to leak out of it as he pumped into it more and more, the men on the screen began to up their efforts as well, earning moans from the Ninetales who drooled at the pleasure. She rocked forward with every thrust the males gave her, her breasts jiggling to and fro which earned a groan of bliss from the male she was massaging. As she rocked, the males at her sides inched their lengths closer so that every time her head came forward, her lips and tongue would brush up against their tips.

Fortunately, the pup didn't hear a thing due to Stoaks wearing earphones. She was also oblivious to his self-pleasuring actions, though she did notice the musty smell in their air. She didn't know what it was, but she thought that it smelled foul and infected. She curled up into a tighter ball and closed her eyes, trying to get some more sleep.

Stoaks suddenly began to pump with all of his might the moment he saw the males splatter the Ninetales with their seed, coating her with a layer of the warm and sticky substance. The Ninetales cooed and mixed up the juices in her womanhood before bringing it up to her lips and tasting it, where she smiled directly at the camera with a wink before the screen froze, signaling the end of the video. At that moment, Stoaks came as well though spilled the fluids onto the floor. He cursed, putting his toy away and looked around for a napkin. When he didn't find any, he looked over at the pup and got an idea. He zipped up his pants and walked over to her cage, unlocking it and pulling her out forcefully.

"May as well get used to getting covered with and drinking this." he told her as he threw her next to the mess on the floor. The pup shook her head, ridding her disorientation and recoiled at the sight of the puddle. First of all, like mentioned before, it was very, very musty and smelled foul. The substance was somewhat clumpy and was a bright golden color which signaled infection for Stoaks' case. There was even a little brown in there, the pup recognizing it as blood. She backed away from it, not daring to touch any of it, let alone drink it.. Speaking of, what did the man wanted her to do? She certainly didn't know. She looked at the man with a curious expression, Stoaks grew exasperated before gesturing to her to drink it, making a kicking motion with his tongue. Instantly, the pup knew what he wanted her to do and whined. She backed away even further from the puddle and earned an irritated growl from her captor.

"Damn it, you bitch! Do as I say!" he yelled as he clapped her ear. The pup whined but refused to listen to him, she instead bit his leg though Stoaks hardly felt anything. He kicked her, sending her into the wall. He waited for her to get up and obey his command though she didn't. Instead, she weakly crawled over to her cage. Stoaks scoffed and pulled her back put, he began to hit her side as well as slap her ear repeatedly. She cried out in pain due to the beating then howled in agony when he took a knife and clipped off the top half of her ear. Blood dripped onto the floor as well as staining her fur. Stoaks followed through his ferocious attack with another kick, sending the pup back into the cage. "That'll teach you, bitch." Stoaks finished before slamming her cage closed and locking it.

The pup began to paw at the ground, the pain emitting from her ear as well as her broken ribs was beginning to prove too much for her. She began to dizzily walk around the cage, the falling on her size and earning even more pain. Finally, she passed out, seeing nothing but black.

 **With Ryker and the group...**

They had just finished packing up camp when Ryker suddenly got a phone call. He placed the log he was holding into the dimensional storage before he fished his phone out of his pocket. He looked at the screen, raised and eyebrow, and answered the phone.

"Fang." Ryker answered whilst walking away from the group. The others looked at him, wondering who had called him so early in the morning.

"Good morning, Ryker, I hole that you don't mind me calling you that. I trust that you had a good night's sleep?" was the reply.

"Of course not, Jeanne, that is, if you would allow me to reciprocate." Ryker replied with a small chuckle, Jeanne laughing on the other end as well. "And good morning to you too, yes I did get a good night's sleep but I'm confused. To what do I owe the pleasure to this call?"

"Aw, why straight to business? I could be calling just to talk, you know?"

"Very well, what do you wish to talk about?"

"... Nevermind, you killed the mood." Jeanne replied with a half-joking tone, laughing a bit.

"Naturally, you do know, of course, that I'd prefer to converse face-to-face." Ryker replied with a chuckle."

The others looked at him with curiosity, Matt was the only one close enough to hear since Ryker was just a few steps away. Matt went back to the group, scratching his head which was itchy due to some falling leaves. "Sounds like a lady, I don't know who though. She sounded really nice though, they were talking and laughing." Matt told them.

Instantly, Aurora shot up and began stalking over to Ryker but was pulled back by my and Sissy for they knew what was about to happen. "Let me go! I have something to say to them!" Aurora seethed.

"-ocket? Of course. If the last of their poachers and buyers are in Viridian like you say, I'll be sure to get rid of them." Ryker said.

"Good. Oh, how I love taking out Team Rocket. I know I shouldn't be saying that, given my position, but I love it." Jeanne replied.

"Ah, as do I. It gives me an extra workout, to both of us actually."

Aurora turned red upon hearing Ryker's reply and threw both Nyx and Sissy off of herself. She then stomped towards Ryker who heard the commotion though was oblivious to what was happening.

"Thank you for taking this side mission, Ryker. I greatly appreciate it. No one else was nearby except for the two of you so my options were limited." Jeanne told him in a happy tone.

Aurora was about to speak her mind but stopped when Ryker turned around. "Of course, Jeanne. I'll report if anything happens. Farewell." Ryker said with a curious expression towards Aurora. Aurora then made a look of understanding, flicking herself on the head before turning around and walking happily, apologizing to Nyx and Sissy before sitting down whilst humming.

"Goodbye, Ryker. Have a good day." Jeanne replied before hanging up with a happy note, Ryker doing the same before turning to the rest of the group.

"Am I missing something here?" he asked, seeing Nyx putting ointment on his scrapes and Sissy rubbing her shoulder with a nervous smile.

"Nothing," Aurora quickly replied with a nervous laugh, "nothing at all, dear." She then got up, walking down the path towards Viridian City. Ryker looked at them, wondering what was up. Matt simply chuckled with a shake of the head before patting Ryker on the shoulder, leading him down the path as they began to catch up with Aurora. Sissy and Nyx looked at each other with sneaking glances, shaking their head as well before following the three down the path.

 **Later...**

"Ah! Viridian City! It's been a while." Nyx stated as he took a place on Ryker's shoulder who gave the Umbreon an amused look.

"You've been here before?" Matt asked, remembering a certain incident involving him and another trainer he fought. The result ended up with Matt beating the living daylights out of the trainer who continued to heavily abused his pokémon even after he lost.

"Indeed I have, some time ago with a close friend of mine."

"That friend wouldn't happen to be Evelyn, would it?" Aurora added slyly.

"Bag it!" Nyx muttered, a brush crossing his muzzle. He then hid his face behind Ryker's head, the latter giving Aurora a look that made her shrug her shoulders with a laugh.

"Who's Evelyn?" Sissy asked, only to get a groan from Nyx.

They went further into town, the streets were quiet though still had many people running around doing errands and such. Many was reading a town map of the area from his pokétch, funding that the Viridian Gym was on the other side of town near the entrance. "You guys ready for the Gym?" Matt asked, wondering if they would just breeze right through like he had.

"As ready as we'll ever be." Aurora replied, transforming into her **Altered Form** , Nyx nodded in agreement and jumped back onto the ground, stretching as well.

"Any tips on the leader?" Nyx asked as they continued to walk though lowered his voice as they passed other people. He looked to see Matt scratching h8s head, giving Nyx an unsure look.

"Well, his name's Blue and he uses all types of Pokémon if that's what you mean." Sissy answered.

"Any strategies or tricks he likes to use?" Aurora jumped in, finding that Ryker's habit of planning everything out was beginning to grow on her. She looked to see Ryker give her an amused smile, her thoughts exactly the same as his.

"Not really. He's the type of guy who just throws in strong pokémon and attack head on. He's more of an improvising character." Matt replied.

"That's not that different from me then," Ryker remarked, "But I'm sure we'll do just fine." Nyx looked at Ryker with a knowing expression though Ryker didn't notice it, Nyx then shook his head with a smile and continued to walk with them. Of course they'd do just fine. How could they not? They have an Akirari and an Umbreon of the Knights! Losing the battle would mean shame for the three of them.

Matt continued to lead them to the Gym, waving to some familiar faces as they walked. Nyx took a recalling look at the city around him, seeing the shops (mostly clothing), the nice homes, and the Pokémon Center which was nearby, across the street to be exact. Nyx then suddenly bumped into Sissy who turned around and gave him a gesture to their left. Already, they were at the Viridian Gym and Nyx thought the walk didn't take very long. Of course the city was pretty small so it made sense.

"Ladies first." Matt announced as the two females went inside, the males chuckling before they followed the two in. Ryker looked around, seeing many trainers battling against one another for practice. He also noticed a poster of a sandy-blond-haired man on almost every wall inside the Gym. The man also had bright blue eyes along with a dark gray shirt with purple jeans. Ryker suspected that it was Blue, nodding in confirmation when he saw a plaque reading "Gym Leader" underneath one of the posters.

The group reached the counter that was in the center of the first room and Matt rang the bell. He and Sissy then took a step back as an anthro Miltank sat behind the counter, wearing formal attire along with glasses. She took a look at them and pulled out a pen, hovering the writing utensil over the clipboard. "I'm guessing you're the one challenging Blue?" he asked, looking at Ryker. The Miltank didn't ask Matt since he recognized the brown-haired trainer from the last time.

"That is correct," Ryker answered as he looked around. He saw that many trainers were looking at him and Aurora in wonder, most, if not, all of them wondered where Aurora could be found. The sounds of pokédexes filled the air and "Error" sounded multiple times as they tried to find data about her. However, their attempts ceased when Ryker returned Aurora and Nyx to their pokéballs after noticing the sign on the wall which stayed that pokémon, other than the receptionist, were to be kept in their capsules.

"Name?"

"Alpha Fang."

"License please." the Miltank asked whilst holding out his hand. Ryker pulled out his pokédex and gave it to the Miltank who scanned it with the laptop before typing in a few things and handing it back to Ryker. "That should do it. By the way, since your pokémon partners have a lot of experience and are also quite strong, Blue has the option of using all six of his pokémon partners against you. Are you fine with this or will you return with somewhat weaker though more pokémon in quantity?"

"We'll be fine, thank you for asking." Ryker answered as the Miltank nodded and led them to the back. "Aren't there other trainers challenging Blue too?"

"There are but he bests them so easily and his pokémon always come out unscathed. He usually takes about a five minute break before accepting another challenge." the Miltank responded as he led them into a large battle room. On the other side, standing with arms crossed, there stood Blue with his arms crossed as well as an overconfident smile on his face. As Matt and Sissy, as well as some curious trainers, took their seats on the sidelines, Ryker walked over to his side of the battlefield and looked to his left to see a referee blow a whistle.

"This battle is between Alpha Fang and Blue, Gym Leader of Viridian! This battle will be... a two on six battle with no substitutions allowed. Let the battle begin!" the referee announced.

Blue picked a Dusk Ball off his belt and threw it to the battlefield, a purple flash emitted from the capsule. "Go, Noctowl!" he called out, a brown owl with red eyes materialised before them.

Ryker took his customised Dusk Ball and threw it a few feet away from Noctowl, the ball emitted a darker purple flash than Blue's did. "You're up, Nyx." Ryker said as Nyx took a battle-ready stance.

"Noctowl, start it off with an **Aerial Ace**!" Blue yelled out, the wings of the Noctowl began to glow with a bright light before dive bombing directly for Nyx.

"Hold your position, Nyx." Ryker said calmly and Nyx did as he was told, having complete faith in Ryker's trainer abilities. Nyx planted his feet into the ground as his opponent came closer, Blue thought that Nyx was already giving up. Just when the Noctowl came within a foot away, Ryker smirked which was seen by Matt who shifted in his seat at the bleachers. "Jump Nyx." Nyx did as Ryker said, jumping and dodging the Noctowl by inches. " **Shadow Claw.** " Nyx did so and landed the attack across the Noctowl's back, long and ridged slash marks that didn't look very pleasant.

The Noctowl cried out in pain and crash landed to the ground, sliding a bit until Blue snorted. "C'mon, Noctowl. Show 'em what you got!" he yelled out. The Noctowl weakly got up, Nyx's last attack landed a critical hit and now, it was losing blood steadily. "Good, now use **Hypnosis**!" Blue added with a pump of the fist. The Noctowl's eyes glowed and stared at Nyx.

"Eyes closed, Nyx." Ryker advised and the Umbreon closed his eyes, wondering how he was going to attack. Blue noticed this and began to laugh, crossing his arms once more.

"My Noctowl can keep up **Hypnosis** for as long as it wants, he can even use other moves while he's at it." Blue gloated, giving a cocky smile. Ryker simply nodded, the new information seemed to be an impressive feat for the Noctowl to him.

"Nyx, keep your eyes closed. You can still do this." _Use your instincts._ Ryker told the Sapphire Knight, earning a nod from him. "Now, send a **Shadow Ball,** two o'clock." Nyx charged and fired a **Shadow Ball** in the Noctowl's direction, the bird completely taken off guard by the sudden attack.

"Dodge it now!" Blue commanded it with an irritated tone. The Noctowl took flight but the **Shadow Ball** skimmed one of its wings, sending the Noctowl spiraling over Nyx and towards the ground. Impressively, it was still keeping up the **Hypnosis** but Ryker didn't want to chance Nyx accidently making eye contact.

"Follow it up with a **Headbutt** to your six, aim low." Ryker stated. Nyx turned around and tackled at the Noctowl, aiming low like Ryker advised. To his surprise, he succeeded in **Headbutting** his opponent and took the Noctowl to the ground. A cloud of dust went up but Blue already knew, Noctowl but was down for the count. He readied his pokéball though didn't return Noctowl in case he was wrong. However, when the dust cleared, it revealed a very dazed Noctowl that could barely move. A few more seconds passed and the Noctowl fell unconscious, a swelling lump on its head.

"Noctowl is unable to battle, Umbreon wins flawlessly!" the referee announced, much to Blue's annoyance. Nyx opened his eyes to see the unconscious Noctowl right before Blue returned it, he turned around and gave Ryker a look of incredulity.

 _Did we just do that? Crikey, I must've gave him a concussion at least._ Nyx told him, rubbing his head.

 _No, Nyx, that was all you. I merely guided you._ Ryker replied before Blue readied another pokéball, this one a Luxury Ball to be exact. Blue then there it onto the battlefield, releasing a Venusaur! However, this particular one was larger than most and the plant on its back was nearly a full grown tree.

"Venusaur, use **Vine Whip** and snag that Umbreon!" Blue commanded. The Venusaur roared as it sent a mob of vines at Nyx, the Umbreon had to sidestep multiple times and even flipped into the air a few times to avoid them.

"Behind you, Nyx." Ryker warned. Nyx simply turned around with a confused expression only to get slapped across the face with a vine, sending him a few feet next to Venusaur. "Quickly now, **Assurance."** Nyx got and and growled before returning the favor to the Venusaur, dealing twice as much damage due to being hit the last turn. Nyx then returned to his side of the battlefield, deciding to play on the defensive. _I did warn you._ Ryker told him, giving an amused smile.

 _Bull! You should've at least sounded like you were warning me! I thought it wasn't anything serious because of your monotone!_ Nyx shot back, Aurora laughed in her pokéball, she heard everything they said so far.

 _Well, you got him right afterward. See? No hard feelings._ Nyx simply groaned, giving up on arguing with Ryker. Ryker looked down to see Aurora's pokéball shake with her laughter, apparently the situation was hilarious to her. "Nyx, follow it up with a **Mean Look,** would you?" Ryker added.

The Venusaur took a step back as Nyx gave him a very frightening stare. Nyx growled then took a step forward, his blue eyes icy cold and freezing the Venusaur on the spot. _What are you looking at, you wanker?_ Nyx told it, causing the Venusaur to jump a little.

"No, Venusaur, use **Solar Beam** and quick!" Blue yelled out as Nyx prepared himself. Venusaur nodded and the plant on his back began to glow, absorbing all the artifical sunlight that was produced by the special lamps hanging above them.

"There's your opportunity, Nyx. Use **Quick Attack** then follow it up with a **Crunch.** " Ryker said as he rolled one of his shoulders, his body itchy to go and do something productive instead of just standing around. In fact, he wouldn't mind if he was thrown into the battle instead of Nyx.

"Be prepared to hurt." Nyx growled though it went unheard by the opponents as well as the referee. Nyx then sprinted towards the Venusaur, becoming a blur as he ran across the battlefield. He ended up tackling the Venusaur's side then bit down with ferocious force on its neck, injuring the behemoth by quite a bit.

"Your Umbreon has more than four moves?!" Blue asked, astounded. In pokémon battles, the pokéball used to capture the pokémon would produce a side effect, it would limit the moveset of a pokémon. Though it was fairly uncommon, some highly skilled trainers learned how to bypass the side effect by giving rigorous training as well as top care and such for their pokémon. Even so, it would be difficult for a pokémon to keep more than four moves without consistent training. In Aurora's and Nyx's case, Ryker simply modified their pokéballs to avoid the side effect. Even if he didn't, Aurora and Nyx would surely still be able to use more than four moves in a battle.

"He does. If you're wondering, I'm not answering how many." Ryker replied as the Venusaur roared. The large pokémon opened its mouth, a charged ball of sunlight pulsed within. "Be ready to dodge, Nyx." Ryker warned as Nyx nodded. Then, Venusaur fired its **Solar Beam** which sailed over to Nyx. The Umbreon gasped as he sidestepped the attack, the beam came a lot faster than he thought it would. Just as he relaxed, Venusaur cut off its **Solar Beam** and refired it, this one smaller though just as powerful. Nyx widened his eyes in shock right before he got blasted in the side, sending him tumbling across the ground. "Nyx, you alright?" Ryker asked.

Nyx slowly got up from the ground, his side heavily bruised and his breathing somewhat heavy. _What. The hell. Was that?_ he seethed, wincing as a pain attack occurred in his side. On the other side of the battlefield, Blue began to laugh with a boasting expression.

"How do you like that? My Venusaur can cut off the rest of the beam and refine it as long as they're still some left. Boom. In your face." Blue informed them, the man's childish behavior was beginning to irritate Nyx. All of a sudden, Nyx charged a powerful **Shadow Ball** and fired it at the Venusaur, hitting his mark and successfully connecting with Venusaur's face. A small explosion sounded and Venusaur was thrown back, hitting the wall and falling unconscious. "V-V-Venasaur?" Blue stuttered.

 _BOOM IN YOUR BLOODY FACE, YOU ARSEHOLE!_ Nyx shouted mentally, again going unheard by Blue and the referee. He then returned to his position in front of Ryker and sat on his haunches, exhausted and hurting.

"You want to switch out, Nyx? You can take a break." Ryker offered.

 _Yeah, I can take over for now if you want._ Aurora added from within the confines of her pokéball.

"I can take one more. Doubt I can go any further than that though." Nyx replied, getting up on his feet and giving Ryker a thumbs-up. Ryker nodded and waited for Blue to call out his next pokémon.

"Return Venusaur." Blue stated as he took out another pokéball. It was a normal pokéball and from within it, Ryker sensed an excited aura. "Alright, Charizard. Get him while he's on his last legs." A flash of red and suddenly, a menacing Charizard appeared before Nyx.

"Blimey, just my fucking luck." Nyx muttered to himself, stepping to the side to avoid an accidental **Flamethrower** attack from the Charizard who was very pumped up.

"Charizard, use **Wing Attack**!" Blue ordered with a smug look. Charizard nodded as he took to the skies, roaring as his wings glowed before charging at Nyx.

"Nyx, use **Quick Attack** to avoid it." Ryker stated, Nyx nodding before running around the field in random patterns and succeeding in avoiding the Charizard's assault. "Quickly now, **Defense Curl.** " Nyx dodged another attack from his opponent before getting into a defensive position, crouching and tensing his muscles.

" **Rock Throw**!" yelled Blue. The Charizard produced a boulder the side of its body from seemingly nowhere and threw it at Nyx who looked nervously at the incoming projectile.

"Nyx, run underneath it." Ryker suggested. Nyx quickly did as he was told and ran forward, avoiding the Boulder which sailed harmlessly above him. "Now, run up to Charizard and make a few laps around it." They wondered what Ryker was planning to do as Nyx made his way to the Charizard. He then ran a few laps around it, the Charizard trying to keep up with him. Ryker then held up a hand and Nyx stopped, turning to see the Charizard dazed.

"What just happened? Charizard, snap out of it!" Blue exclaimed.

"Your partner there likes to put all of his focus into something he's interested in." Ryker answered. "In this case, he was focused on Nyx and didn't even notice his dizziness coming on until it was too late."

"Jeez, perceptive much?" Matt joked to Sissy from the sidelines. Sissy giggled and looked on, curious as to how the round between Nyx and the Charizard was going to turn out.

They all then redirected their attention to Charizard who roared, he recovered from dizziness faster than Ryker had predicted. "Great job, Charizard. Cook that Umbreon with an **Inferno**!" Blue shouted. Charizard roared a portion of his species name and spewed a vortex of flames at Nyx. Nyx could only brace himself as he felt himself getting scorched by the attack, having no way to avoid it.

When the vortex dissipated, Nyx weakly took a step forward and gave Ryker a frantic look. _That hurt a lo-OW! DAMN IT!_ Nyx told him as he to accidentally rubbed a singed portion of his body.

"I need you to bear with me, Nyx." Ryker told replied calmly. Nyx nodded to with a wince and Ryker returned the gesture. "I need you to.." The rest of his sentence was inaudible due to Charizard roaring at that moment. Next thing they knew, Charizard was being blasted back by a beam of Shadows. " **Shadow Beam.** " Ryker stated as Nyx kept up thee attack for as long as he could.

"Whoa! How the hell are you doing that?!" Blue demanded.

"It's just a loosely formed **Shadow Ball** that is constantly fed energy as it is projected forward by Nyx's will." Ryker replied. Nyx then finally stopped the attack, revealing a heavily breathing and hurt Charizard. Blue instantly grew enraged and pointed a finger at Nyx.

"Charizard, **Blast Burn** at full power!"

Charizard shook its head before roaring, covering himself with a cloak of intense flames as he charged at Nyx. Nyx looked at Ryker, knowing that if he didn't do anything, he would lose. He couldn't dodge either, his energy was somewhat spent.

"Nyx, **Moonlight** then follow through with a **Shadow Charge**." Ryker told him as he sent Nyx an image of what the second move would look like. He also gave quick instructions to Nyx as to how to perform both moves since the Umbreon had no idea how **Moonlight** would work without the moon neither did he have an inkling about **Shadow Charge.** Nyx then nodded, focusing as the Rings on his body glowed brightly. Everyone, save for Ryker, gasped as the light from the Umbreon's rings formed a small glowing ball which rose to the sky. Even Charizard stopped his advance to watch the spectacle. The ball of light then shined on Nyx, giving him energy and healing his minor wounds.

"What are you doing? Finish him!" Blue shouted before Charizard returned to his duty. As the red dragon advanced towards Nyx once more, Nyx opened his mouth and covered himself in a layer of Shadows, the energy formed similar to using **Shadow Ball**. He then glared at the Charizard before charging at it, attacking head-on.

 _Let's see if you like this!_ Nyx shouted as he jumped, connecting with his opponent's head with his own. An explosion occurred and the sounds of bodies falling echoed in the room. When the dust settled, everyone looked to see Charizard knocked out, a large bruise and lump on his head much like the Noctowl.

"No! Not you too, Charizard!" Blue wailed. Nyx stumbled his way back to Ryker, falling forward as Ryker quickly caught him in his arms. The Umbreon weakly coughed, rubbing his head before closing his eyes.

"Make.. sure.. You get the dragon.. a bottle of painkillers. Pills for headaches or something... Ibuprofen would work best.. " Nyx told him before passing out, his body relaxing as he rested. Ryker chuckled as he returned his partner, looking at Blue who returned Charizard as well. Ryker expected Blue to throw out another one of his pokémon but was surprised to see the referee wave the flag in his favor.

"The Leader ran out of pokémon to use for battle. Therefore, Alpha Fang wins!" he announced as Blue made his way over to Ryker. He gave Ryker a glare whilst offering his hand.

"You're lucky that the rest of my pokémon are still tired to fight, they're in the Pokémon Center." Blue remarked as they shook hands.

"I suppose." Ryker replied, humorist the childish man. Blue scoffed and fished out a badge from his pocket, giving it to Ryker who placed it in his badge case. The two then exchanged farewells and Ryker, along with Matt and Sissy as well as Aurora who was still in her pokéball, left the battle area. As they exited the Gym, Matt gave Ryker an impressed whistle.

"Damn, Ryker, you gave us an entertaining show back there." he commented.

"Didn't I tell you, Matt? I like to improvise though planning ahead takes the fun out of things as much as I do that." Ryker replied, releasing Aurora as they walked to the Pokémon Center. "I'm sorry that you didn't get to Battle, Aurora."

"That's fine. There's always next time. We just need to tend to Nyx." she replied as she stretched her wings. They reached the entrance to the Pokémon Center and walked in, finding the nurse at the counter. She had blonde her, complete with brown eyes and long eyelashes. She wore the standard nurse outfit though one could see the combat boots she wore behind the counter.

"Amber! I take it that you transferred here?" Matt asked, receiving a hug from the nurse. Amber also hugged Sissy whose tail wagged a little.

"You bet'cha. It's only temporary though. Then, I'm on the road again." Amber replied as she finally noticed Ryker and Aurora. "Oh sorry, what could I do you for?" she asked. Someone nearby snickered at her choice of words and Amber blushed heavily, Aurora looking around to find and freeze the culprit.

"I here to patch up my partner, an Umbreon." Ryker replied as he released Nyx onto the counter, ignoring the sexual innuendo of whatever the owner of the snickering implied. Nyx appeared on the counter, barely awake. He looked around and froze as he spotted Amber. He out two and two together and quickly screamed, diving towards the floor but Ryker grabbed him.

"NO! NO! DON'T LET HER TAKE ME! THOSE DAMN CHANSEYS LIKE TO TOHCH EVERYWHERE! THE NEEDLES TOO! DON'T MAKE ME GO IN THERE!" Nyx panicked, earning looks of surprise from onlookers, especially Amber though she quickly shook it off. She vaulted over the counter and grabbed Nyx from his middle, helping Ryker.

"Don't do that! You need to get fixed up! Everything will be fine!" Amber pleaded. Nyx continued to struggle, pawing away at Amber's face to make it difficult for her to grab him.

"No! I don't want to! I don't want to get poked all over! I don't want to get drugged and waking up as high as Big Ben! Please, Arceus no!" Nyx shouted, on the verge of tears due to fear and frustration. He then made it out of Ryker's hands, landing on the floor with Amber still grabbing his hind legs. He clawed his way across the floor, then looking back at Amber with a malevolent expression. "Don't make me **Shadow Ball** your pretty face now, sweetheart." he warned.

Sissy, Aurora, Matt, and Ryker simply watched as the struggling two were locked in a standoff, Amber with a tranquilizer and Nyx with a charged **Shadow Ball.** "He's exhausted but he still has enough energy to put up a fight like this?" Sissy remarked. At that moment, Nyx suddenly dispersed the **Shadow Ball** , making Amber flinch as she thought he was going to attack her. Nyx quickly ran over to Ryker, hiding behind his trainer's legs and cowering at the sight of Amber with a needle.

"They're all evil. Evil, evil, evil." Nyx muttered as he shook, Ryker felt it behind his legs and gave a sigh.

"Nyx, stop acting like an infant and go to her before I will personally handle you myself." he stated bluntly, making the rest of the sweatdrop save for Nyx who looked at Ryker as if he betrayed the Umbreon.

"How could you?! I thought I could trust you!" Nyx whimpered, his eyes wide and teary. Ryker sighed once more, glaring at the onlookers who quickly scrambled and shooting Amber an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, Amber. Don't mind him. It's not you, trust us. We'll just heal him on our own." Ryker told her before returning Nyx.

"How are you going to do that?" Amber asked, straightening out her skirt and jumping back over to her chair behind the counter.

"I have potions thank herbs that will do the job. Plus, my other partner here can heal most injuries." he replied, petting Aurora gently on the side to which the Akirari sighed in hidden pleasure. Amber stared at them, mostly Aurora and Nyx's pokéball, then nodded whilst pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Alright. Matt?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Why is it that there's always something either extremely exciting or extremely bad happening around you whenever I see you?" she asked, shaking her head.

Matt shrugged his shoulders, giving her a laid-back expression. "I dunno, luck?" he replied. It was then Ryker nodded to Amber before turning to look out of a window.

"Thank you for trying to help, Miss Amber. I think we'll be leaving now, unless we're staying the night here?" Ryker stated, looking over at the rest of the group. Matt and the others lookwd at each other, Sissy noticing a poster advertising about fireworks that were planned to go off that night. After she pointed it out to the rest of them, they nodded. Ryker turned to Amber, handing her a pitch black card with dark steel lining the edges. "I guess we'll take a room for the night." Ryker told her with a chuckle.

Amber took a look at his card before scanning it with the register gun. She then noticed the amount of figures on his savings account...

"Is there something wrong?" Aurora asked, shocking Amber out of her trance like state. The nurse pointed a finger at Ryker, trembling as she did so.

"Did you guys know he's reach? And that there's _still_ money transferring to his account?" she asked.

Matt and Sissy looked at him with Ryker replying with a shrug before taking his card back. "I'll let you in on a secret, please don't tell anyone. I own part of Silph Co. due to me having an intense amount of knowledge, my designs and inventions, and also saving Mr. Silph from certain death. " He then pressed an option on the register, selecting a VIP room and paying for it. After that, he took two cards corresponding to the room he purchased, giving a card to Matt, and walked upstairs, Aurora following close behind whilst shooting them an amused smile before they disappeared upstairs.

"... Well." Matt stated, painfully aware of the awkward silence.

 **VIP Suite 3...**

The suite consisted of three rooms, as standard issue for all VIP suites in the region. Ryker and Aurora took the leftmost room and entered, Aurora making herself comfortable on the bed before smiling at Ryker.

"I think you made quite the impression on her." she remarked.

"Is that a good or bad thing?" Ryker joked with a chuckle. He was then pulled onto the bed by Aurora who stared him in the eyes.

"We'll, that depends. What are you planning to do if she were to ask you out?" Aurora shot back. Ryker replied by nibbling her ear, making her squirm underneath him as he then gave her neck some attention. He nibbled gently, smoothing out her fur at some points with his tongue.

"I'd reject her, you know that." Ryker replied as he embraced her. Aurora was about to hug him back but stopped when Ryker suddenly pulled back. She then looked to see Ryker release Nyx, Aurora finally remembering with a dawning realization that Nyx was injured.

"He's resting but we still need to tend to his injuries." Ryker told her, receiving a nod from her. Aurora watched Nyx's sleeping form, wondering what was his deal with the Pokémon Center services earlier. Maybe there was an accident that left him traumatized? Or could it be something as simple as having a fear or needles? For now, Aurora kept her thoughts at bay when she saw Ryker preparing to heal him.

"Wait," Aurora said as she took hold of his hand, "let me heal him. You don't need to use your blood to." Ryker smiled warmly at her, shaking his head as he returned his attention to Nyx.

"I won't have to use blood anymore, I have a new method of healing. Though, blood is the best way for me to heal someone." he replied as he hovered his hands above Nyx. The light in the room suddenly dimmed and the shadows gathered at Ryker's palms, his eyes then turned to how they were in his Fenrir form, black sclera, and glowed darkly. He placed his hands on Nyx's side and Aurora watched as Nyx's cuts, scrapes, bruises and all healed with moments. She gave Ryker a look, the light in the room returning back to normal.

"How did you do that? And why would blood be a better method?" she asked, grabbing one of his arms on her own. Ryker pointed out the window, indicating the sun. He then sighed as he leaned against her, Aurora reciprocating his actions.

"Sunlight gives energy. I basically suck that energy out of light itself and feed it to wounds such as the ones Nyx had. It would work on larger and major wounds as well, though the requisite would be a lot more light. In a way, you could say that if I try to heal too many at once, I could very well throw the area I'm in into darkness for a while. As for blood, it's the very essence of life. It gives us oxygen for our major organs to function, keeps us warm, and much more. What better source of energy would you use for healing other than blood?" he explained.

Ryker then placed Nyx on the bed under the covers, heading to the door after as Aurora was about to ask him where he was going. He left the room and went to the suite's entrance, opening the door to reveal a surprised Matt with a raised closed fist. Sissy was next to him as well as Amber though she was in casual clothing.

"Uh, how did you know we're here?" Amber asked.

"Good hearing." Ryker answered truthfully, earning skeptical looks from the three outside the suite.

"We were just about to ask you guys if you wanted to head to the spa downstairs with us. Wouldn't it be nice to relax and unwind?" Sissy informed the two, looking into the two's room to see Nyx asleep.

"I would love to go!" Aurora answered as she made her way to them. She then transformed into her anthro form, sporting only blue top along with matching panties, the latter modest enough for her to walk to the spa without any worries and the like.

"I actually planned to get something done." Ryker told them, disappointing Aurora a little. He then noticed her expression and smiled warmly, rubbing her shoulder before leading her out the door. "Don't worry, I'll be back before you four are done." Aurora sighed but nodded with a smile as Ryker closed the door, locking it to ensure no one would get in though Nyx would still be able to get out if he needed to. They all walked down the stairs, parting at the counter when the group going to the spa went left, behind the counter and into the water rooms. Ryker left the Pokémon Center and checked the time, figuring he would be back in about an hour.

 **Later...**

Ryker walked down the streets of Viridian, checking his time to see that he was back earlier than he had expected. _Almost finished. Shouldn't be too long before its construction is fully complete. Then I'll just have to craft the furn-_ he thought but stopped, detecting multiple scents. He turned to his right, seeing a part of the road that was blocked off by a fence. He vaulted over it, following a worn path that led him an area where the road was completely worn away, only dirt and such was left and maybe a few cobblestones. He looked ahead, spotting a large warehouse that looked like it was on its last legs. He was briefly reminded of his time in the Beacon, he smiled as he remembered the moment the large tower crumpled and returned to the earth.

He walked up to wait used to be the main entrance of the warehouse, finding a warning sign that was broken in half. He pieced it together, the sign read "WARNING! SCHEDULED FOR DECONSTRUCTION!" He disposed of the sign and grew suspicious for there were many scents within the warehouse. He spotted a man through the window on one of the floors, seeing rifles and camouflage equipped on their persons. Ryker would've walked away, he didn't care for what humans did and situations such as the one before him was none of his business. However, he was stopped when he detected the faint scent of animal blood. Instantly, his mind went back to that morning when the news reporter declared an investigation of the sudden decrease of population in Viridian Forest. Ryker growled, making his way through some debris and going through the front door.

There was a hallway that led him to one side of the warehouse, he looked around the corner of the wall and saw more men donned with poaching equipment. However, there were even more that were actually undressing. He then narrowed his eyes in disgust when he saw a man ordering a pokémon to shift into its anthro form. He scanned the room, finding both male and female captive pokémon and other animals. He realized that the captives were either going to be sold off somewhere or kept as a sex slave. Either way, he didn't like it. In fact, he loathed the very idea.

Ryker walked into the room and picked up a shard of broken glass, driving it into the nearest man and killing him silently. He then dragged the man out of sight though was spotted by another. Ryker quickly silenced him, taking a hunting knife from the dead man underneath him and throwing it at the alarmed poacher. The knife was then embedded in the poacher's forehead, Ryker disposed of the body with flames as it was in the open and he didn't have time to hide it. He then vaulted over a crate full of equipment, wrapping his legs around another pitcher's neck and snapping it before he landed. He then moved on to the rest of them, killing them off in a similar or, in some cases with the worse poachers, a worse fashion.

He pulled his knife from the eye of the last poacher and scanned the area, finding no more of the pig men. Ryker then went to each cage, breaking them and freeing the captives. They quickly thanked him before immediately leaving the warehouse, Ryker also told one of them to notify the police in exactly forty minutes which was five minutes less than the amount of time Ryker predicted he would take before he left the area. By the time he leaves, the police would be in the area. Once he finished up, he moved on and went upstairs, finding a room with slightly less cages and poachers than the previous room.

"-heard that Stoaks has a new plaything, apparently she's only a pup but he plans to have her grow into one of the most... used of any of these guys." a poacher spoke as he gestured to some of the cages. The one he was talking to, a female poacher though she looked.. manly in nature, crossed her eyes with a gruff scoff.

"He can do what he wants. As long as I get a piece of ass around here. My rod is stiff as hell right now from looking at all of them here." she replied, making Ryker raise and eyebrow.

 _She's either a hermaphrodite/futanari or she's simply a transgender. You don't see those every day._ he thought with a chill. He didn't understand humans theses days. Why would you want to alter or change your gender? He then shook his head, refocusing on the task at hand. _42 minutes._ Ryker thought as he moved on. He reached over a crate, pulling the man back and knocking him out of commission with a punch to the liver. With his other hand, he sent a **Void** pulse to the mystery gender, making some of her innards combust as well as rupturing her bones. She fell to the floor, dead and something fell out of her pants. "Strap on, really?" Ryker muttered to the dead woman.

 **Void** can do one of two things, it could erase and it could deconstruct. Ryker had just used the latter. He then remembered about the rest of the poachers, seeing them still going about their business as they didn't notice his encounter with their two companions. Ryker quickly slid to a wall, narrowly avoiding the gaze of a poacher in the next room. He then pulled out his pistol, the same one he used back in the Kanto Army. Checking the silencer was still on, he looked over his shoulder to see some poachers come his way. He then took them out, his eyes cold, making a shot to one's head and the other's heart. Before their bodies fell, he swung his pistol as he pulled the trigger, the bullet curved around a pillar and made contact with another poacher's neck. Finally, he fired two bullets into a burly man sitting on a chair, blood spilled from the man's chest as he fell forward along with the rest of the bodies.

"Please, help us." a Vulpix in its anthro form called out. Ryker nodded to them, setting them each free and even a hug from the Vulpix. After she left, Ryker began to walk into the next room but stopped when he heard footsteps approaching from the other side of the wall. Similar to what he did to the man behind the pillar, Ryker swung his gun as he fired, the bullet curved all the way around the wall and embedded itself into the poacher's eye, where he gasped for a quick second before falling dead to the ground.

Ryker found the next flight of stairs, climbing up at a somewhat leisurely pace. _36 minutes._ He reached a door and listened, finding no one but the captives were in the room. He went inside, surprising the caged, and freed them before moving on to the next room. _29 minutes._ he thought as the last room had quite a lot of captives though strangely, no poachers. He then found the next flight of stairs, finding that it was cut off from the bottom half though there was a ladder complete with a rope and platform instead. He jumped and planted a foot into the wall, kicking off the wall and repeating the action with the opposite side until he reached the top. He looked at the floor, finding trails that were marked with scrapes. Chips of metal scattered the area and Ryker came to a conclusion. The ladder was how the poachers got up and the rope with platform was how they lifted the captives of which they dragged into the next room.

Ryker looked to see a more pleasant sight than the previous room. All poachers were asleep and none of the captives looked defiled in anyway. On a nearby wall, a sign read "No touching, special orders!" and Ryker figured that none of the poachers had done anything. He scanned their minds, finding only two of the many poachers in the room, all having different clothing than the ones on the previous floors, had raped and such in the past. He out a bullet in the two rapists and bound the rest to their chairs as well as taping their mouths shut with some duct tape he found on a crate. He released the caged and went into a spiral staircase, finding a room that was smaller compared to the rest. _15 minutes._

In the room, was a single poacher and a man behind the desk. Ryker narrowed his eyes, figuring the man behind the desk was either a buyer or seller. Whatever the case, the man will be taken care of. As there was no point in being silent anymore, Ryker casually walked in as the two noticed his presence. The poacher raised his rifle but Ryker set him ablaze, turning up the temperature in the room by a significant amount. The man behind the counter shook with fear but he tried not to show it. Instead, he feigned boldness and aimed a gun at Ryker. Ryker's arm was a blur, a bullet soon finding itself in the man's hands. The man screamed out in pain as he dropped the pistol, the noise finally waking up the pup in the cage. However, she was in the corner and Ryker still didn't take notice of her. She watched as Ryker reached the man, taking a knife and stabbing the man's hand to the desk.

"Argh! Damn you! What do you want?!" Stoaks cried out, trying to pull out the knife with his bleeding hand. He then spat at Ryker who dodged it instantaneously, Stoaks widened his eyes in shock as Ryker began to growl. Flames began to lick at the desk and the shadows in the room grew darker. The pup watched with fear as Ryker took Stoaks by the head and pulled him closer.

 **"It is you, Stoaks, who is to be damned. You think that you're smart, hiding in an abandoned factory like this. However, everything, including your mind, will return to the Void...I shall let you live, for it would give you great suffering."** Ryker snarled as Stoaks was forced to look into Ryker's dark eyes. He then began to scream, his eyes going wide and his throat growing hoarse with each passing second.

 **Stoaks mental plane...**

 _All Stoaks saw was a terrifying flash of_ _ **black.**_ _His vision blurred as streaks of white and blacked seared across his vision, his eyes burning (though not litwrally) at the sight. He began to see what he thought were the flames of Hell, he saw giant horned skeletons equipped with bloodied swords move towards him. Stoaks screamed, finding that he couldn't turn away. He began to run though horrific images of people being slaughtered, demonic creatures flying all around, and much more occur all around him. He saw both men and women commit suicide, a girl fell down a well and came back as a terrifying demon. The girl he saw came up to him and scratched at his neck, her dripping figure soaked with the water of the well. Stoaks grabbed his neck as he tripped, turning around to see the giant skeletons. He screamed, trying with futility to ward them off. However, when he stood up, one of them thrusted its sword into his head, lifting him off the ground and throwing him back into pitch_ _ **black.**_ _When he landed, he found himself looking at the many victims he had captured and eventually killed off due to them becoming diseased and such. He took a step back, tripping over something. He hit his head on the ground and groaned in pain, looking at whatever he tripped at. It turned out to be a headstone._

 _"_ _ **Stoaks F. Lowrey- 1989-20...This poor man will not be missed, nor will he find rest."**_

 _Stoaks widened his eyes before he turned around, seeing his victims though instead of eyes, black cavities replaced the eyes and blood poured from the two holes. They grabbed him, baring their teeth before Stoaks felt a searing as well as crushing pain in his head._

 **The warehouse...**

Ryker took a step back as Stoaks fell forward, his eyes blank and his mouth opened as droll spilled. There was blood leaking from his ears but remarkably, Stoaks was still alive. His breathing was labored but actually, breathing was about the only thing Stoaks knew how to do at this point though barely. The pup looked at the black-haired rescuer with fear and wonder, she wondered what he had done to Stoaks. What she witnessed, though she somewhat instinctually knew it, was another form of Ryker's **Alpha Stare.** She whimpered at the sight of his flames, the noise catching his attention. Ryker turned to her, the pup seeing the black sclera of his eyes for a split second before they turned back to white. Ryker saw her and calmed down, the shadows and flames in the room residing. He walked up to her, putting away his gun while it was still out of her sight. When he reached her cage, he unlocked it and waited for her to get out. When she didn't and cowered in the corner of the stage, Ryker smiled and offered a hand.

 **"Do not worry, little one, I will not hurt you."** he told her, bis warm smile actually calming her. She to wondered how she understood him though the thought was easily dismissed as she inched her way to his hand. His hand, in fact, was big enough to hold her with. So, when she reached it, she took a sniff of his hand before finding with confusion that she trusted him. She didn't know why but she did. She trusted him with her life. She weakly looked up at him, giving a weak whimper to him as she placed her fore paws on the palm of his hand. It was then Ryker tended to her wounds, healing her and earning an ecstatic cry of bliss. She somehow knew he was the cause of her injuries going away and again, she whimpered at him but this time, pleading for him to pick her up. Ryker chuckled and did so, cradling her to his chest with a hand. He scanned her mind, seeing her most recent memories of her family and her time in the warehouse. He frown, causing her to tilt her head in curiosity.

 **"So you're only three months old... Do not worry, little one, I will find you a new family to live with."** Ryker told her reassuringly. He checked his watch, seeing that it was about time for him to leave. On cue, sirens could be heard outside. As he turned his head to look out the window, he missed the pup's shaking of the head. She didn't want for him to go, she wanted him to stay. However, her actions were interrupted as Ryker suddenly jumped out of a window, landing softly in the ground and greatly surprising her. He then walked towards the direction of the Pokémon Center, letting her walk alongside him.

 **Pokémon Center..**

"Ah, the felt good." Matt sighed, walking with the others towards the VIP suite. Sissy hugged his arm and nodded, nuzzles his face.

"You can say that again." Sissy remarked, Amber nodding in agreement as well. She then looked over to Aurora whose body was dry though she still wrapped herself with her towel. "You think Ryker's back?" she asked.

"He'd better be." Aurora replied as they walked up the stairs. "And can you do him a favor and not say his name in public? He doesn't trust other people to know it so just call him Alpha unless we're alone." Sissy and the other two nodded as they reached the door. Matt took out the card key and swiped it in the lock, unlocking the door. When they walked in, they nearly shouted in shock to see a white and red pup sniffing around the suite.

The pup turned to see them and cried out in fear, whimpering as she ran away. Just then, Ryker walked out of his room after checking on Nyx only to give a look of surprise as the pup hid behind his legs. He looked at the group, they gave him looks that read, "What the hell?" and he sighed, deciding that he should explain himself.

 **About fifteen minutes later...**

"So now you're going to find a new home for her?" Aurora asked, trying to reach for the pup. The pup instantly recoiled at the sight of her hand and hopped onto Ryker's lap, as they were sitting on a large couch. Ryker nodded and looked down at the pup, smiling at the pup's solution to Aurora's hand was his lap for defense. He then pet her and scratched her behind her ear, earning a contented coo from the pup.

"Go on now, she's not going to hurt you." Ryker told her soothingly. Judging by the tone of his voice, the pup understood the gist that Aurora wasn't going to do anything bad to her. She slowly crawled out of Ryker's lap, sitting in front of him as Aurora tried petting her once more. Finally, Aurora's hand made contact with her head and the pup grew slightly uncomfortable as Aurora pet her. However, at the same time, she enjoyed the feeling she was getting from Aurora. After Aurora retracted her hand, Matt and Sissy tried to do the same but only Sissy got close as the pup ran back to Ryker in fear. "It might take some time. I imagine that she's quite shaken up." Ryker added.

"What are those markings on her fur?" Sissy asked, intrigued. Ryker inspected them, noting the patterns as well as the signature tufts of fur on the pup's body. He frowned for a second before looking at them.

"The only thing in my knowledge that would come close to her description is the Seekers." he replied.

"The Seekers?"

Ryker nodded, smiling as the pup started to nibble his finger. "Yes, the Seekers. Wolves with fur as white as snow as well as having red markings like her. They have the power to use three elements in combat. Fire, Lightning, and Ice. They would have a green disks like object that would float above their backs, the edges of the disks would show which element they'd use. Also, though rare as it is, some Seekers are able to use ink on scrolls or other paper to aid them in combat. For example, say one were to fight an evil creature. They'd draw it then they could do something like mark a slash directly across the abdomen of the creature, the drawn one. Once that is done, the real creature would appear to have a slash wound on its abdomen as well."

They were all amazed at the new information, wondering if the pup is a Seeker as well. However, they were somewhat doubtful since she didn't have a disk above her back. Ryker turned his head to look into his room, spotting Ngx on the bed though he was still asleep. He then turned back around only to get payed on the face by the pup who playfully nuzzled his face.

"Why are they called Seekers? And that's adorable by the way." Aurora asked as she let out small noise of adoration. Ryker chuckled as he accepted the pup's invitation to play, grabbing her paws with his fingers and rubbing them as he made her swing her arms like a puppet. The purpose then began to let out a cry of happiness as he continued to play with her, she loved his company.

"They are called Seekers because of the fact that they don't stay in packs as one would think. Instead, they travel all across the world whenever they sense an evil Darkness and get rid of it for their job is to keep the world safe. However, it is futile." Ryker then released the pup and she whined, giving him a confused look. "There will always be Darkness as the world needs to have the two forces equally balanced."

He then gently lifted the pup off his lap and got up, leaning closer to her head and inspecting her ear. He figured that he didn't use enough energy and waved his hand as the light in the room dimmed. The pup looked with amazement as her ear began to mend, becoming whole once again. She would've been happy at the moment but noticed Ryker leaving towards his room. Taking wary glances at the three around her, the pup made her way off the couch and followed Ryker to his room where he could be seen checking on Nyx. Ryker suddenly felt exhausted, walking over to the phone on the nightstand with a yawn. The pup was awed at the sight of his canines and felt about her own with her tongue.

"Hello, valued customer! This is room service, what can I get you?" a voice called out from the phone as Ryker looked at the menu which was underneath it.

"Hello to you as well. I would like to have your "Steak Supreme", please."

"Mashed potatoes or toast on the side sir? This special is part of the breakfast category."

"Mashed potatoes are preferable." Ryker responded as he looked at the pup. She gave him a tiny bark as well as a smile and he returned the favor by giving a smile of his own, the act earning a happy response from her.

"Would you like gravy and coleslaw with that?" the room service replied.

"Just gravy, please."

"Anything else? Your current total is $11.72." the woman on the other line added.

"Yes, I would like the "Fish Lover's Delight", please. And hold off on the tartar sauce as well. As for the sides, the eggs will do. Scrambled if you can, actually." Ryker ordered.

"What type of fish would you like? It's the main part of our special."

"May I ask for your opinion? Of the three, which taste the best out of salmon, catfish, or bass?"

"I've had the catfish before and it was definitely worth the price, sir."

"...Actually, nevermind that. I just remembered that the one I'm ordering for favors salmon. As for my final order, I would like to have the combination dish, the "Ultimate Chicken Fried Rice."

"Ok then, sir. Any beverages for any of the orders?"

"All water please, and a cup of tea as a separate order as well." Ryker replied as he felt a sudden weight on his shoulder. He looked to see the pup give him a lick on the face and he wondered how she got there. He then noted the small disheveled spot on the bed and figured she must've climbed it in order to get to him. He chuckled and petted her head, earning a small yip from her.

"Is that all? Your current total is $31.50." the room service woman asked with a peppy tone.

"Actually, I'd like to add the "Chicken Salad" to my order, please."

"With ranch? Any sauce at all?"

"No thank you. That would be all." Ryker replied.

"Okay, your total is $33.99. Please enjoy your stay here at the Pokémon Center and your food will be up shortly."

Ryker hung up the phone and looked at the pup, seeing her stare curiously at the sleeping Nyx. Ryker shook his head at Nyx, the Umbreon had already slept for several hours and he wasn't injured anymore. He walked over to Nyx and patted his shoulder, stirring Nyx awake.

"Morning, mate." Nyx announced as he yawned and stretched.

"Actually, it's still the afternoon." Ryker replied with a chuckle. Nyx shook his head and gave him an amused smile before noticing the pup on Ryker's shoulder. He stared at it for a second, trying to figure out what to say.

"Ryker Jr.?" he asked, earning a laugh from Ryker.

"No, Nyx. She's an orphaned pup I rescued a few hours ago. The others will tell you later. Come on now, room service is coming with food." Nyx followed Ryker and the pup out of the room, greeting the rest of the group as he sat on the couch. Ryker was walking over to the living room area of the suite, turning on the television and switching it to a channel that he thought the pup would like. He found kiddy learning channel and looked at the pup whose eyes were fixed on the dancing puppet on the screen. Ryker set her down on the couch in front of the television, leaving her there as he walked back to the group.

"You are so good with younglings. I don't get it." Aurora remarked, adjusting her position on the rocking chair.

"Am I? I thought I was doing the bare minimum." Ryker replied, genuinely curious of their opinions. However, they simply stared at him and he gave them a confused look. Matt then sighed as he leaned back against the couch, shaking his head at Ryker.

"Man, what is up with your social skills? It's like you're a quick learner with everything except for that and when it comes to it, you're very oblivious to it." Matt commented.

".. I suppose that's true." Ryker replied, saying no more before he looked back to see that the pup was still there on the couch. The pup was curious about the show. She found that dancing puppet strange and the characters around it incredibly odd. The only thing she actually gave a care for was the alphabet lessons and the number lessons. Other than that, her eyes scanned the screen as she mentally criticised the many oddities of the show.

"A-B-C-D," the puppet sang, the pup craving her head to hear. Deep down, she made the connection that the alphabet was used to form words, a form of communication. If she learned the alphabet and learned how to talk, it would make her life a whole lot easier. "E-F-G, H-I-J-K..."

The group continued to talk until Matt noticed the pup listening to the alphabet. He pointed it out and they watched as the pup nodded to herself as the puppet on screen reiterated each letter of the alphabet. "I think she's going to be a quick learner, she's going to be really smart in the future." Matt remarked.

"I agree, you don't see that much determination in someone as young as her. The blokes we see today, "parents", the ones that shouldn't even have children, should straighten up, yeah? How old is the cutie again?" Nyx asked.

"Three months." Ryker answered. "I'd say it won't be long before she could talk to us and understand everything we say." Everyone else nodded as the pup began nodding to herself once more, shaking her head at some letters as if she missed them. Actually, it was exactly like that. Whenever she made a mistake, she would shake her head and refocus as the puppet reiterated the alphabet. In fact, the lesson was supposed to repeat for about ten minutes.

A short while later, a knock sounded at the door. Immediately, the pup abandoned the television and ran behind Ryker in fear. Ryker, seeing himself in a situation, looked over at Aurora with a chuckle. "Could you get that for me?" he asked, earning a laugh from his lover. Aurora walked over to the door, seeing a man with a cart. He smiled, grabbing a dish and giving it to her.

"Steak Supreme,... "Fish Lover's Delight."..."Ultimate Chicken Fried Rice"...and" Chicken Salad." the man served then left, the food already paid for by Ryker with his card. The group thanked him for the food but noticed he didn't take the "Steak Supreme."

"The salad is mine, actually. I'm not that hungry." Ryker answered as he took his plate and walked over to the living room, the pup following him. He sat down, the pup by his side, and inspected the chicken. He found it fresh and safe then got up again. He held out a hand for the pup to stay and went over to the kitchen, opening the refrigerator. The others looked with curiosity as they ate, seeing Ryker pull out a brand-new carton of milk. He then disappeared in a black wisp, the others wondering where he went. The pup saw this and began to whimper, on the edge of crying. However, just as soon as he left, Ryker came back with the milk carton still in his hand. However, it was opened and he was sprinkling some kind of powder into it. He then grabbed a small bowl and spoon before walking back to the pup and sitting down. Immediately, the pup sat on his lap, sniffling though happy he was back. Ryker didn't understand why she got that way in though dismissed it, taking a bite out of his salad.

"Where did you-" Sissy began to ask but stated with a gaping mouth at the scene before her. The others stared as well, incredulous beyond belief. They watched as Ryker brought up a chunk of chicken into his mouth, he chewed it for some while before taking a sip of milk from the small bowl. He then deposited the gruel from his mouth onto the spoon, the chicken a semi-solid mass surrounded by warm milk. Ryker then offered it to the pup who sniffed it for a second. The spoon being one used for soup, it was somewhat easy for the pup to get her mouth around it and consume the chicken-milk gruel mixture. Once she swallowed it, she yippee happily and wagged her tail as Ryker took another bite of his salad though this time, with the lettuce and berries. He swallowed then took another chunk of chicken and did the same as he did before. They watched as he continued the pattern, first feeding the pup the gruel then eating the salad himself. Ryker noticed them staring and pointed at their plates.

"You're food is going to waste if you don't eat it." he told them before feeding another spoon to the pup. The rest of the group snapped out of it and returned to their meal, eyeing Ryker and the pup every now and then. Aurora thought the sight was extremely cute and heartwarming but she never expected Ryker to be the one doing such a thing. After a while, they finished her food and watched as Ryker fed the last few spoonfuls to the pup. When he fed her the last bit of chicken and milk, the pup yipped and yawned, signaling that she was full and tired. Ryker set the empty plate and bowl on the table as well as the carton of milk before carrying the pup. He patted her back several times before a tiny burp escaped her maw. However, they all looked in shock as a burp was not the only thing that escaped. Even the pip watched wide-eyed when she and the others saw a tiny spurt of red flame escape her mouth. She yipped repeatedly in surprise, pawing at Ryker to see if he saw it as well. The rest of them were just as surprised though Ryker was actually the most shocked out of all of them.

"Hey Ryker," Aurora asked as they spotted two small green disks floating above the pup's back. The disks then did the unexpected, it morphed into tiny wings and turned white, fire erupted from the white limbs and acted as the pup's wing membranes. Then, just as suddenly, it disappeared with the pup becoming drowsy from fatigue.

"Y-Yes, Aurora." Ryker asked, surprising them as he usually talked with a calm tone.

"When do Seekers develop their powers?" she asked, awed by what just happened before them.

Ryker turned to them, his eyes wide and his hands slightly shaking. The motion caused the pup to yip excitedly and ignore its fatigue, she thought Ryker was playing with her. Ryker then turned back to the pup, giving her a shaky smile. "They develop their powers when they feel that they have met the most trusted and/or important individual in their life." he answered.

"... "

The silence remained for a few moments before Ryker suddenly shook his head, calming down a bit and flattered by the pup's claim on him. He all of a sudden knew he couldn't leave her now, she had bonded with him and he enjoyed caring for her. He looked at Aurora with a smile and nodded.

"I think she's going to want to stay." Ryker stated, the pup yipping for him to continue to play with her. He then looked back at at the pup, giving her a small smile which caused her to calm down a bit. **"Tell me, little one, would you like to have a name?"** he asked her.

The outgrew excited, not only at his change of tone but also at the idea of having a name. She nodded repeatedly, yipping at him whilst pawing at the air. Ryker nodded and thought to himself for a moment before snapping his fingers.

 **"How about Amaterasu? It means "the sun goddess that shines in heaven"."** Ryker suggested. The pup thought for a moment, really liking the name as well as its meaning. She then nodded excitedly and nibbled his nose, loving the name. Ryker chuckled and petted her head, giving a look to the others. **"Amaterasu it is."** the others grinned at this and grew excited as the idea of a new member of their group crossed their mines. For Aurora, she thought it as Amaterasu being a new member of the family. She and the rest of them watch as Amaterasu continued to paw at Ryker, the latter giving in with a chuckle before resuming to play with her.

Amaterasu was ecstatic. As of that moment, she thought her life was given a second chance. She thought with happiness that the one before her, the one she considered her leader, was going to be part of her life from then on. She inwardly whined at the thought of her mother and father but somehow, just somehow, she knew that they'd be happy for her and that this was the right path to go.


	26. Chapter 10 (DR)

**Break Time!**

 **Chapter 10: Holed up.**

Ammy, her nickname as they called her, woke up with a tiny yawn. She opened her eyes, looking up to see Ryker's face, his eyes closed as well and his breathing caused her body to rise and fall as she was on his chest. She looked to her right, seeing the bed with Aurora and Nyx upon it. She didn't know why Ryker wasn't sleeping there as well though she figured it was because of the fact that there was only enough room for Ryker to fit, barely. If he were to sleep on it, he would have to be completely still to avoid falling off the side. Ammy had refused to sleep on the bed the night before, for she only felt comfortable around Ryker. Ammy slowly got up on all fours, trying to sneak her way off of her caretaker without waking him. However, she nearly yipped aloud when she felt a pet to her head. She turned with a happy expression as well as a wag of the tail, making her way up to his face and licking his nose. Ryker chuckled and rubbed her back, taking a glance at the clock on the nightstand.

 _ **You know, I'd usually go out for training very early in the morning. However, for you and for her,**_ Ryker gestured to Aurora, _**I'll make an exception. And you're an early riser, I see. I'm usually the only one up by now.**_ Ammy nodded as she listened to him, wagging her tail even more so Ryker hugged her to his chest whilst getting up. He then took her outside to the living room and set her down on the couch. _**Are you hungry?**_ he asked. Ammy was about to nod but was interrupted by a growl from her stomach, the promise of food getting to her.

Ryker chuckled and went to the kitchen, grabbing the carton of milk as well as going back to his room. Ammy looked down to see the remote, pressing the button with the image of a line in the middle of a circle. The screen on the television came to life, the show she was watching yesterday was on the air. She smiled, sitting forward on her fore legs as she continued learning from the educational showing. Ryker came back into the living room, seeing her watching the television show. _My, a quick learner indeed._ he thought to himself as he grabbed a spoon. He then sat next to her, Ammy turning her body to rest her upper body on his lap. Ryker didn't know why, but for some reason, he felt like he was to be her permanent guardian, much like Aurora. However, this was different. There was a paternal feeling to it, rather than a sensual and passionate love as he felt for Aurora. Ryker set the milk carton down and the spoon on top of it, he watched the cartoon with her. He found that other than unnecessary exaggerations and such, the learning system was surprisingly efficient.

They only had to wait for about five minutes or so before the room service came knocking lightly on the door. Ryker got up and opened the door, grabbing his plate of food before tipping the man and sending him on his way. Ryker returned to the couch with another chicken salad in his hands. However, this one had more chicken chunks as he had ordered. He took a bite, tearing apart the lettuce and berry in his mouth. He then chewed up a chicken chunk, doing as he did the previous day and mixing it with about half a mouthful of milk. He deposited the gruel onto the spoon, getting Ammy's attention and feeding her. Once she swallowed the mixture, she returned to watching the show before turning her head around a few moments later again to eat. Once he finished feeding her and the show finished, they hears the door to one of the rooms open up. Out came Nyx, his fur somewhat disheveled and his eyes crusty. He yawned as he noticed the duo sitting on the couch, making his way over and sitting to the left of Ammy, though the Seeker pup became scared and hopped onto Ryker's lap.

"Oh, come on now. It's not like I'm going to bite you, little sweetheart." Nyx told her, redirecting his attention to the television which was showing the morning news. He then raised his eyeridges, his surprise evident in his eyes.

"-a few poachers were arrested, however," the reporter gestured to a pile of bodies behind her, the graphic scene blurred for sensitive viewers, "most of them were brutally killed off by an unknown individual. Strangely, this individual did not kill the infamous slave bidder, Stoaks J. Lowrey. Authorities state that they had done nothing to him but put him in cuffs, though for some reason, Stoaks' mind is now a complete mess. He has no recollection of anything but up to breathe it seems. They would have to get a feeding tube and waste aid for him soon. I would also like to add that Stoaks and the earlier mentioned poachers were responsible for the drop in population of Viridian Forest. There were hundreds of kidnapped individuals, one of them somehow got free and actually reported this warehouse to the police. Now, back to you, Blake."

Nyx looked at Ryker and Ammy, jaw agape and eyes wide. He then shook his head and caused even more of his fur to become disheveled. "You didn't mention having to kill all of those poachers. What in the bloody hell did you do to them?" Nyx asked with a tone of awe.

"Unpleasant things, Nyx. Things you would not like to see." Ryker replied, stroking Ammy's head gently, causing her to relax and become drowsy even though they had just woken up earlier. Nyx returned his attention to the news, giving a confused look when Ryker shut the television off. "You should take a look at yourself." Ryker said with a chuckle.

Nyx looked at his reflection on the television screen and let out a short exclaim of surprise. He then recomposed himself and licked his paw, smoothing out his fur and removing the crust from his eyes as well. Nyx looked at Ryker and nodded in thanks who only nodded back in reply. Nyx then looked out the window, seeing dark clouds cover the entire sky. Nyx frowned, one of his ears began to twitch repeatedly though he didn't notice. "There's going to be a heavy storm here, mate. Thunderstorm if you want to get specific." he stated.

"If that's the case, they're going to close down the route to Pewter City soon. We'd have to wait until the storm passes over." Ryker replied, his ears listening out for the storm as well though they moved subtler than Nyx's. It was then when Ammy let out a yip, seeing Aurora walk out of the room whilst humming. Aurora noticed Ammy and smiled, waving at the pup. Ammy yipped once more and slowly made her way to Aurora who was surprised at the pup's actions as well as Nyx. Ammy carefully reached Aurora and sat on her haunches about a foot or so away, wagging her tail slowly and giving the Akirari a curious look. "I think she may have taken a slight liking of you, dear." Ryker said from the couch as he pulled out a book. The title cover read "Quantum Physics (Advanced)" by Alastair I.M. Rae. Aurora noticed that Ryker read books when he gets bored and seeing him read a book for fun such as that one made Aurora shake her head with a smile. Nyx noticed the book and winced, he thought that the topic would surely give him a headache.

Ammy yipped again and Aurora offered her hands. Ammy got up and cautiously sniffed Aurora's hands, placing her fore paws onto the palms and then the rest of her body. Aurora smiled again and lifted the Seeker pup up to eye level. "Aren't you just cute?" Aurora cooed as she began petting Ammy's back as well as hugging her to her chest much like Ryker does. Ammy tilted her head in wonder at the question though dismissed it as Aurora petted her back. Ammy thought that maybe Aurora wasn't so bad, maybe she'll start to trust her a little. "I'm glad that you're letting me hold you, not just our Alphy over there." Aurora said with a giggle.

Ryker set his book down and gave Aurora an expressionless look. "Don't let her get used to that nickname, please." he told Aurora who only stuck out a tongue at him. Nyx looked at Ryker with a wicked smile, laughing whilst rolling onto his side.

"Excuse me? "Alphy"? Now that's off the trolley!" he remarked as his sides heaved. Ammy gave Aurora a confused look, not understanding. Aurora smiled and pointed a finger, gesturing at Ryker.

"Alpha," she then pointed at Nyx, "Nyx, I'm Aurora," Aurora then sent Ammy a memory of the faces of Matt and Sissy. Ammy marveled at how she saw the two. "Matt and Sissy." Aurora finished as they went over to the couch. Ammy somewhat nodded, remembering her own name was Amaterasu or "Ammy", given to her by Ryker. She suspected that the words Aurora blurted out were their own names. As soon as Aurora sat down, Ammy hopped onto Nyx's back, the Umbreon letting out a small exclaim of surprise, and into Ryker's lap once more. Ryker looked down from his book and saw her give him a small whine, Ammy began stomping on him with her fore paws. Ryker smiled and set down his book, Ammy wagging her tail in hopes that he understood.

"Already wanting to play, yes?" Ryker asked her. Ammy immediately nodded, she already memorized the word and recognized it in an instant. She hopped off of Ryker's lap and landed on the carpet, running in a circle before yipping at him happily.

"This is the kind of thing that makes me think you're a big softy on the inside." Nyx remarked as he saw Ryker playfully stalk Ammy who ran away and hid behind cover.

"Would you like to peer into my dark cavity, Nyx? I'm sure you would love to see how my mind works and thinks as well as how dark my heart is." Ryker shot back, Nyx quickly shaking his head and silencing himself. Aurora shook her head, slightly annoyed but amused at the same time at Ryker's remark.

 _Apparently, it's not dark enough for us to love each other or for you to care for others._ she thought with a smirk.

 _Heard that._ Ryker told her, making her jump and caused Nyx to jump as well, giving her a look as to why she was so surprised. Aurora shook her head to his silent question, directing her attention to the television after she turned it on. Nyx instantly became fixed on it as well, the movie that was showing was that of a comedy... Nyx absolutely loved comedies.

Ryker sneaked up behind a chair and waited, he was still for a few moments as he heard the sound of suppressed excited breathing on the other side. He then quickly peered around it, feigning not to notice Ammy underneath his chin. Ammy inwardly yipped in laughter to this and kept still, wondering if he would notice her. Ryker suddenly looked down at her, making a small but exaggerated lounge at her. Ammy let out a yip of excitement before running off, this time into their room. Ryker smirked and got up, silently making his way into the room. However, when he got inside, he looked to see Ammy completely out of sight. He then smiled as he heard small shuffling noises behind him, signaling that she was trying to crawl unnoticed back out of the room before he could catch her. Ryker chuckled to himself as he pretended to look for her on the bed and the other furniture of the room. When Ammy reached the doorway, Ryker suddenly turned around and she yipped in surprise. She ran out of the room and turned her head to look back at him only to see him make an attempt to stop her. Next thing she knew, she fell on her back with a small pang of pain to her head. She looked to see that the door to the room next to her was open. She put two and two together but began to whimper, soon crying as Ryker picked her up.

"Oh crap, did I do that? Sorry, Ammy, I didn't mean to." Matt said in a slightly tired tone as he tried to reach out for her. Ammy ignored him as he pet the uninjured places on her head, he was attempting to soothe her. Aurora and Nyx noticed the commotion and walked on over, giving Matt a questioning look. "I swear, I didn't know anyone was behind the door!" he quickly explained as Sissy walked out from behind him.

"Aw, you'll be fine, Ammy. You're a tough one, aren't you?" Sissy asked in a suggesting tone, Ammy ignoring her as well. The pup only cried onto Ryker's shoulder, the former giving them a clueless look. The only thing he could do was to pet her soothingly, the act somewhat calming her down as she cried.

 **"Hey now, you're going to be fine, alright? See? It's not as bad as it looks. The pain will go away soon."** Ryker told her. Ammy continued to sob for a few more moments before looking up at him with a nod. However, Ryker saw a fire spark in her eyes. Literally, there was a fire blazing in her eyes as she turned and looked at the door. She gave a sort of a bark at it, a small jet of flame escaped her maw and made its way to the door. However, before it made contact, Ryker swiped at it with his hand and held it. Ammy again shook her head in surprise at what she had just dome, it was all instinctual and she had no idea how she did it. However, she became fixed on the sight of Ryker holding her fire, his hand now showing it to her about half a foot away from her face. **"You have to be calm at times of pain, little one. Else, you would do reckless things and panic which could lead you to do dangerous things. It could also lead to more pain, to yourself and other people if you're not careful."** Ryker told her.

Ammy nodded slowly at his advice, Matt and Sissy still surprised at Ryker's change of tone and language. Though he spoke in it around them a couple of times, the two still didn't get used to it. They were even more surprised to see Ammy whine and nuzzle Ryker on the chin. Ryker smiled, chuckling as he rubbed the top of her head. "It's alright." he told her, that phrase too she understood. Ammy brightened at his response and rubbed her head against his chest, loving his company. The sight caused the others to look with awe and adoration, the touching sight warm to their hearts. "Breakfast, anyone?" Ryker asked them.

"Sure. I'll order for you guys this time." Matt replied. Ryker waved his hand, walking over to the living room and looking in the closet for something.

"You don't need to order for me. I'm not really a breakfast person and I already fed Amaterasu." he replied from inside the closet.

"He doesn't eat breakfast that often, Matt, because he usually goes out and train really early in the morning. He makes up for it though with a huge lunch." Aurora told Matt, answering his unasked question.

Ryker sifted through the items in the closet, finding toys and such for children though he ignored most of them. He then found what he was looking for, a rubber ball. He squeezed it, finding that it was easily squeezable. He then walked over to the kitchen sink, washing the ball and sterilizing it. As he did those things, he noticed Ammy eye the ball with interest as the ball had made a small squeak when Ryker squeezed it.

"How did you know there was a ball in there?" Nyx asked.

"Pokémon Centers provide toys for pokémon. Especially young ones. It's not very common to find a Pokémon Center that doesn't do that." Ryker answered as he inspected the ball, satisfied at seeing it completely clean. It looked like it was brand new and also never used. Ryker didn't detect any scents on it and figured it was because people rarely rent the VIP rooms. Also, if they did, that doesn't mean they knew about or played with the toys in the back of the closet.

As Matt ordered room service, Ryker set Ammy down in the middle of the living room. He lifted the ball up to her nose, squeezing it. Ammy felt compelled to bite it, to stop the infernal squeaking but also to make the ball squeak to stop the squeaking. She figured there was something inside that was making the sound and concluded that the only way to stop the squeaking was to bite as much as she can on the ball. Ryker then lifted the ball, lightly throwing it at a wall. Ammy excitedly ran after it, stopping when the ball bounced off the wall and into Ryker's hand once more. She gave him a yip before he threw it again, this time, after bouncing off the wall, the ball was caught in between Ammy's jaws when she timed a jump for it. She bit the toy a few times, finding that it was hard to find and to bite the squeaker within. She then dropped it, wondering what to do. However, she only grew excited once more when Ryker picked the ball up and threw it in a different direction, towards his room. Ammy chased the ball into the room, looking around to see it was gone. She then picked up a scent, it was somewhat bitter though had her caretaker's scent as well. She sniffed around, trying to pinpoint where the scent originated.

Outside, the group, save for Ryker, we're either sitting in a chair or on the couch in the living room. "She's enjoying the playtime it seems." Sissy remarked.

"Not only does she get to play," Ryker replied," but it also hones her skills. She has to run, listen, as well as track and sniff for the ball before finding it. This will give her a sort of a headstart without putting that much effort into it."

Back in the room, Ammy tracked the scent to the bed. She circled the bed, looking around it as well as atop of it. She then remembered to look underneath and sure enough, the ball was there towards the center of the bed. She yipped triumphantly and crawled underneath, retrieving the ball and bitting it a few times before crawling back out from under the bed. She happily ran out of the room, running over to Ryker before dropping the ball at his feet. She sat on her haunches and wagged her tail excitedly as she waited for Ryker to pick up and throw the ball. She then saw Ryker's approving smile, as his point was just proven by her. She yipped, finding that she liked seeing him happy. Ryker chuckled and picked up the ball once more, hovering it above her head before tossing it up in the air. Ammy immediately got the idea and jumped with all the strength she could muster, getting herself in the air at Ryker's knee level. As she began to fall from the apex of her jump, the ball was within her reach and she caught it with a snap of her jaws.

She landed with a triumphant wag of her tail, walking up to Ryker and setting her fore paws on his legs. Ryker smiled and picked her up, Ammy dropping the ball and dismissing playtime. She much rather be in his arms and cuddle up, something she remembered that she loved to do with her parents back when they were alive. At the thought, she whined and looked down. Ryker and the others noticed this though Ryker was the only one who understood, as her thoughts were rampant and he was the closest to her. Ryker sighed, cradling her with an arm and petting her head soothingly with his free hand. Ammy instantly brightened, finding that she didn't feel as sad with Ryker around.

"Seriously, you two are so cute it's ridiculous." Sissy remarked as Ammy began to crawl onto Ryker's shoulder, having fun by scaling his body and such. Ryker shot a look in Sissy's direction at the remark, he thought it was amusing for her to call him that. However, Sissy misunderstood the intentions of his look and shivered, his eyes were intimidating and she reconsidered calling him cute. At this point, Ammy was on Ryker's shoulders and her upper body and fore legs were leaning on Ryker's head. Her tail was wagging and Ammy sniffed his head with a few yips, keeping herself busy as the others laughed at the sight.

"So, what are we going to do today? We can't go anywhere since they're closing down the road, chaps." Nyx stated with wonder. At this, everyone but Ryker looked out the window to see rain shower the city with a heavy load. The streets would be covered in puddles inches deep soon. It was then Ryker looked at the window as well, the action caused Ammy to look too due to her still leaning half her body on his head.

"I suppose we could use a portal to the next city. Then again, there's no rush really. Whether or not we should go doesn't matter." Ryker answered.

"Might as well stay then, besides, I heard there's going to be a festival here later on. I'm sure the rain would let up by then." Matt said with a nod of thought. He then chuckled, giving Sissy a look before she too let out a small laugh. "Reminds us of the time we spent in Pewter City, it rained for days and everyone was in a bad mood. We were running out of money, we couldn't leave the city, and Team Rocket attacked us and kidnapped Sissy and Emie. Boy, a lot happened."

Just then, a knock on the door sounded, making them confused. No one ordered room service. Aurora walked up to the door and looked through the peephole, seeing a black-haired woman next to a man wearing a white suit with purple tie. Aurora raised an eyeridge, sensing that the man next to the woman was a pokémon and a strong one at that. However, she didn't sense any evil intent except for a dark aura around the man, Aurora figuring he was either **Ghost** or **Dark** type. She unlocked the door and in came the woman who went straight for Matt who gaped at the sight of her. The woman stopped and slapped him before hugging him, Ammy lowered herself to Ryker's arms in slight fear but knew that her caretaker would protect her. She took a look at the newcomers, seeing that the woman had hazel eyes with fair skin. She had a tight purple shirt on with black leggings, her wavy hair ended at the middle of her back. As for the man, he had pale skin that contrasted greatly with his lavender eyes. His hair was in a similar style with Matt though it was a silver color. As mentioned before, he had a white suit on with a purple tie, a pack of cigarettes can be seen in his pant pocket, with the lighter in his breast pocket.

"Well long time no fuckin' see, Matt! Why didn't you call? I wouldn't have known if Amber didn't say anything." the woman exclaimed as Matt shook his head with a sigh, Sissy smiling as she was hugged by the woman as well. Ammy cocked her head in confusion when the woman cursed, wondering why her hearing was hampered at that moment. She saw her mouth the word but no sound came. In truth, Ryker knew the newcomer was going to say such a thing and he simply censored the word from Ammy since she was only a pup.

"Rachel," Matt groaned, "What the FUCK are you doing here? And who said you could just barge in?" Ryker censored that as well and Ammy looked around scared, wondering if she was going to lose her hearing. However, a quick soothing massaging hand from Ryker calmed her down.

Rachel put her hands on her hips, looking crossed. "First of all, the nice lady let me in! And second of all, what's with that tone you're using? I just wanted to visit a friend!"

As the two bickered, Sissy stepped to the side and walked over to the man with a smile. "Hi, Lawrence! It's been a while." she said as she hugged him. The man, Lawrence tensed at the action, obviously not liking the hug. But he soon smiled and nodded to Sissy as she let go.

"Likewise, my dear. I must apologize for my mistress, she wanted to see you two immediately after hearing that you were hear from Amber." Lawrence replied, his tone and manner like that of a gentleman.

Nyx groaned and repeatedly smacked his forehead. "No, not another one of him!" he remarked jokingly, referring to Ryker. Aurora giggled at the comment and that was when the two newcomers finally noticed their presence.

Rachel walked up to Aurora, hand outstretched and Aurora noticed that there were scars all over the woman's arm. By the pattern-like placement of the scars, Aurora figured it was self-inflicted. "Hi there! Sorry for saying" wiman" earlier, I think pokémon have the same status as humans... Not that you're not female though. My name's Rachel and I'm one of Matt's best friends from back in our dimension. Pleasure to meet you. And that scary guy over there who looks like Slender Man at first glance is my boyfriend, Lawrence." Rachel announced as they shook hands.

Aurora smiled and nodded, gesturing to herself. "Pleasure to meet you too! My name is Aurora, an Akirari." she replied as the two newcomers looked at her with questioning since they had no idea what an Akirari was. Aurora then gestured to Nyx, Ryker, and Ammy. "He's Nyx, the one with the puppy is my mate, Ryker, and the puppy's name is Amaterasu but we call her Ammy."

At the sight of Ryker, Lawrence calmly walked over to him. Ammy fearfully hid herself in between Ryker's arm and side and whined, Lawrence's aura was daunting to her... And she was only used to Ryker's dark aura. Lawrence extended a hand, giving haof a smirk. "Lawrence. I'm a Gengar."

"Ryker, I'm a Knight of Alph." Ryker replied, equally calm. The two looked at each other, their stares unwavering. The others looked on with confusion as to what they were doing but no one voiced it. It was only until Lawrence pulled out a cigarette did everyone released their pent-up breaths, they didn't even notice that they were holding it in.

" _And what business do you have with Matt, Dark One?"_ Lawrence asked in fluent Japanese, only Aurora and Ryker understood it.

" _Ah, so you do speak Japanese. As for your question, I'm only tagging along with Matt since we're both challenging the Kanto League. Another thing, if you're going to smoke, then I'm going to ask you to please stop outside to do so because this youngling doesn't need to be around that."_ Ryker replied in the same manner, Aurora taking a step forward in case she was needed. Lawrence sighed as he out away his cigarette, giving Ryker another cold look.

" _If you make any attempt against my mistress, I shall see to it that your innards will be littered all around this region._ " Lawrence threatened with a smirk. Ryker smiled as well, liking the Gengar's style since he reminded Ryker of himself a little.

" _I will say the same to you. If you lay a harming finger on Aurora, Amaterasu, or Nyx, I will make sure your body gets buried, along with any hopes and dreams you may have."_ Ryker replied. Aurora gasped at the two's brutality against one another, Sissy wasn't fluent but only caught a few phrases though didn't get much.

" _I suppose we are not that different, we're both cold killers and judging by your eyes, I can see that you gained a lot less, if not equal, experience than I do as I was a samurai before I died."_ Lawrence replied.

" _I agree but I am no samurai. If anything, I would be like your ronin, a swordsman with no master. As for experience, I guess it's true that you've dealt with a lot more fun to your past and from Matt's story, you even kill now. However, you haven't killed off an entire civilization, have you? You never created a city due to you causing destruction, did you? I may not have the same experience as you but I would like to point out that I was in the military for several years... Yes, we are similar, indeed we are cold killers and yet, the only thing that keeps us in check is our family, wouldn't you agree?"_ Ryker retorted.

At that moment, the two began to laugh, obviously enjoying their conversation. Aurora just stated at Ryker, incredulous to his claim of himself being a cold, heartless killer. But, the simple fact that he mentioned family warmed her heart. The two laughing individuals then settled down, Lawrence taking his side by his mistress who doubled as his trainer.

"What the hell was that all about, Lawrence? Huh, Ryker?" Rachel asked as she looked at her gentleman of a Gengar boyfriend. Ryker shook his head with a wave of his hand, tending to the still afraid Ammy who made sure she didn't take her eyes off of the **Ghost** type.

"It's nothing, Miss Rachel," Ryker replied as he reverted back to his own gentleman-like self, though the real reason why he did so was because of Rachel's personality and attitude which was one he did not want to test. "We were just learning some things from each other, background stories and such." he finished, his answer not a lie though not entirely giving away what had just happened.

"That's right, mistress, nothing but friendly chit-chat." Lawrence added with a chuckle, nodding to Ryker.

 **Later...**

"I'm so jealous of you." Rachel told Aurora with a small tone of anger though it wasn't directed at the Akirari. They were sitting in the Female's Only spa and the two were leaning against a rock. There was a few people inside though they kept their distance for privacy.

"Whatever for?" Aurora asked, completely surprised and thrown off by the question. She lowered herself and exhaled with a relaxed sigh, the the warm water somewhat covered her ears and she began to hear the familiar sound of muffled heartbeats.

"Those huge things!" Rachel said with a whine as she held her breasts, gesturing to Aurora's at the same time. Aurora blushed and hugged herself, sitting down cross-legged and giving Rachel half a smile.

"They're not that big. It's only size K-"

"K?! The biggest I've seen before you were DD's and they belong to a freakin' bird!" Rachel exclaimed, though calming down a bit as the water became warmer. She then inspected Aurora, the latter started to become uncomfortable under the woman's watchful eye. "Though it's amazing that you kept that perfect figure, your boobs are so proportional to the rest of your body. It's like you're a tall girl with long legs and stuff and the boobs are considered DD's if you're part of a group with the same type of bodies." Rachel explained, Aurora nodding with somewhat understanding. Basically, she was a K size to most people while others like herself would make her look DD size since they were as well. At least, that's what she got from Rachel's explanation.

"Well, I don't think it's all that. I mean, I don't even experience back problems or aching at all. Maybe I'm just lucky." Aurora replied honestly, Rachel nodding vigorously in agreement.

"All I got are these stupid A cups, I bet Lawrence is disappointed of them. Rachel muttered, lowering her head and blowing bubbles into the spa. Aurora frowned and rested a hand on her shoulder, giving Rachel a reassuring smile.

"Hey, don't think that. I'm sure he loves you with his whole being. Besides, knowing how he is, I doubt he worries about small details like that." Aurora said but instantly covered her mouth, realizing what she had just said. She looked at Rachel who was happily humming to herself, apparently she didn't catch the mistake Aurora made in her sentence. Aurora let out a sigh of relief, laughing nervously to herself as she thought about what she said. _Hehe, "small details"... She probably would of hit me._

The two left the spa sometime afterwards, they went to the showers and while they were scrubbing their bodies, they noticed Sissy walking into one of the stalls with a disturbed look. Sissy then shook her head, smiling to herself and humming as she began to lather her fur in the shampoo. _I'm not pregnant. Matt's a human, duh!_ she thought, Aurora catching the thought and nearly dropped her shampoo.

"Are you okay, Aurora?" Rachel asked, giving a concerned look with an arch of an eyebrow.

"Just fine, Rachel. Thanks for asking." Aurora replied with a laugh as she began scrubbing once more. The three met up afterwards and walked down the hallway back towards the main room. However, on their way, a muscular man blocked their path and grinned, his teeth were somewhat yellowed and his bald head shone like the sun. The man was as tall as Ryker, having a green shirt on with cargo shorts.

"Hello there ladies," he began as he raked his fingers through his invisible hair, "heading anywhere tonight?" Aurora mentally sighed in annoyance, holding her rubbing her temples with soothing lotions of her fingers. Rachel, however, took the offensive and made a step forward.

"Out of the way, bub. We're trying to get back to our rooms." she stated with venom.

"Aww, but I just want to hang out a bit more. Come on, what do you say?" the man shot back, obviously thick headed. Aurora was beginning to get very annoyed, her arm twitching to take action. She looked to her left to see Sissy take a step forward.

"Listen, we really don't have time for this. Why don't you just step aside and go home so that we can all get on with our lives?" she asked, making a grab for her side only to find that her bokutō wasn't there. She cursed, remembering that she left it back to the suite.

The man gave her a smug smile, laughing as he shoved her back with a hand. "Shut up, mutt. No one asked you for your input." At that moment, Aurora growled and grabbed the man by the neck, taking her other Ark and shoving him to the ground while keeping her grip on his throat.

"Back the hell off! I'm sick and tired of men like you constantly trying to make away with us women after we clearly show you that we're not interested!" she yelled, her blood boiling and her fangs bared. The man yelled out in raspy shouts as he tried to pry her hand off his throat but to no avail. He then tapped the floor with his palm multiple times, signaling surrender. Aurora huffed and let him go, shocking the other two who only stared. The man got up, rubbing his neck with a wince and rolling his shoulders due to the fact that Aurora shoved him there. He then grunted, sending his fist into the wall in attempt to intimidate them. He then leaned his head forward, nearly covering Aurora's face in spittle.

"You're going to pay for that." he snarled. He then withdrew his hand and raised it into the air, Aurora getting into a defensive stance with a smirk. All of a sudden, the man screamed out in pain and debris was sent in all directions. Aurora and the others covered their eyes, coughing as the dust settled and the vision returned to them. At first, Aurora noticed that the man's head was lodged into the wall. She then noticed that there was a hand on his head, connected to an arm and the rest was obscured by the still selling dust. She then widened her eyes though smiled when the dust cleared away completely, revealing Ryker with a calm explanation, he withdrew his hand from the man's head and looked at him.

"I would like for you to leave, now would be preferable." Ryker stated as the man crumpled to the floor. They all waited for a moment Rachel and Sissy incredulous and Aurora barely restraining her laughter. The man groaned as he slowly got up, holding his slightly bruising face while he regained his bearings. He took one look at Ryker, nodding and whimpering weakly, and left the hallway whilst limping. Ryker then pulled out his wallet, taking another look at the hole in the wall before returning his attention to his currency.

"This should cover the damages." he muttered as he pulled out a several bills. He then gave the three a look and smiled at Aurora's fidgeting expression, pointing up at the ceiling and putting his wallet back in his pocket. "Matt asked for me to call you three up there, it's to play the Taboo card game." he explained. Aurora walked up to him and gave him a peck on the cheek, to which he responded to with a chuckle.

Rachel and Sissy followed the two down the hallway, spotting the man from earlier hurriedly leaving from the Pokémon Center. Ryker handed Amber the wad of cash and told her it was for the hallway, leaving a confused expression on her face. As they walked up the stairs, Aurora poked Ryker on the shoulder with a quizzical look. "Where's Ammy? Is she doing alright without you?" she asked.

"She's actually watching the cartoon show that she loves. Nyx is watching her and she actually got somewhat used to him, like this morning with you." Ryker answered. They then reached the suite, Ryker opening the door for them as they went in and then coming in himself. They saw that Nyx was sitting on the couch a couple of seats away from Ammy who was watching the television content. At least, that was until Ryker came into the room. The moment she caught sight of him, she yipped excitedly and wagged her tail, waiting for Ryker to take his seat next to her. Ryker smiled and did so whilst Aurora took the seat in between him and Nyx. On the floor sitting cross-legged, Matt and Lawrence were preparing the game. Lawrence was shuffling the cards and sorting them by the categories and colors. Matt was taking out the hourglass timer and score sheets, complete with a pen. He then looked at the rest of them, shaking the hourglass.

"Anyone up for game?" he asked, nodding as Lawrence told him that he finished setting up the cards.

"I'm game." Rachel immediately answered.

"Sure, why not?" Sissy responded.

"I'll play too." Aurora said with a nod. She then looked at Ryker who thought to himself for a second before nodding, signaling he was playing as well.

"Let's go." Nyx said, stretching his neck.

They seated themselves in a large circle on the floor. The first team composed of all the girls, the other team was of the guys. However, due to the odd number, Ryker volunteered to keep track of the time and sit out. The game of Taboo was simple, a card is given to a member of the team and the person with the card would have to get their teammates to guess each of the five words on the card. If they couldn't, they could skip the word and pick up another card. However, that person cannot say the word nor could the person say any of the five listed words that are related to it. Gestures and acting out the word was also illegal in the game. Whichever team with the most guessed words wins. Now, they were seated in a certain way, each of them sat in between members on the opposite team. This way, cheating wouldn't occur and teammates cannot look at the card that is selected.

The girls were the first to go, Ryker handed Sissy a card and she looked at it. The word was "Airplane" and the five words she could not say were "plane", "sky", "airport", "air", and "wings". Ryker waited until she was ready, then flipped the mini hourglass and started the timer. Ammy watched with interest as the small particles in the mini hourglass started to shift and fall through the tiny hole to the bottom.

"Um, um," Sissy started as Matt and Lawrence leaned over to look at her card, making sure she wasn't breaking any of the rules. "it has turbines and could fly-"

"Jet!" Rachel guessed, receiving a shake of the head from Sissy.

"Plane?" Aurora shouted, receiving her another nod from Sissy.

"Not exactly," Sissy said, "um, it goes down the runway and they come in different sizes. Oh! They have landing gears and two pilots!"

"Airplane!" Aurora guessed, receiving a nod from Sissy as Ryker nudged Ammy who made a small mark on the girls' scoresheet. He had explained to the Seeker pup earlier to make a mark whenever he nudged her on the left side of the paper. When it was the guys' turn, she was to mark the right side of the paper.

Sissy grabbed another card and glanced at the timer, seeing that she had a little over half a minute left. The word was "Jack" and she could not say "tool", "car", "three", "pointed", or "name". "Um, with this, you could raise a vehicle with." Sissy started.

"A crane? A lift?" Rachel guessed, scratching her head.

"A tow or tow truck? The magnet from a junkyard?" Aurora tried.

Sissy shook her head and tried to think up another thing to say. She then snapped her fingers, smiling. "It's a type of exercise, or you can step on them and they hurt, and guys do this when they watch X-rated videos!" she said with a triumphant laugh.

"Jacking off?!" Rachel said with triumph though Aurora gave a small blush.

"No, it's singular and in the infinitive tense." Sissy said with a frantic tone, seeing that the timer was about to stop.

"What does that mean? Infinitive tense?" Rachel asked, Matt facepalmed and Lawrence chuckled inwardly.

Aurora narrowed her eyes and tilted her head, raising a finger as she opened her mouth. "A jack?" she asked, Sissy cheering and nodding before she grabbed the next card. However, the time had ran out and Ryker had to stop her before she could continue.

"I swear, I'm no good at this game." Rachel muttered as Ryker grabbed the scoresheet from Ammy.

"The girls now have two points. Though one of those points are void and they now have one point." Ryker announced, earning looks of outrage from the girls.

"What?! What do you mean? We got them both guessed right!" Sissy shouted. Ryker grabbed the two cards they had guessed and held them up for all of them to see.

"Do you see it now?" Ryker asked, giving a smile of amusement. They all simply gave him confused looks though Nyx suddenly shot up and grabbed the two cards.

"He's right! Look! Sissy, you read two different colors!"Nyx exclaimed with glee, indicating the mistake to the girls. Sissy gasped as she found that she indeed read two different colors, she read one that was bordered with purple and the other was yellow. Out of all the colors, there were only four and the other two colors were blue and red. A single card has two sides with four words total, one side had red and blue with two words while the other side had yellow and purple. Sissy groaned with a facepalm, Aurora patting her on the back soothingly and saying that she probably would've made the same mistake.

After they settled down, Ryker handed a card to Lawrence who scratched his chin as he took a look at the word. "Let's see..." he started. The word was "Tree" and he couldn't say "plant", "bark", "roots", "leaves", or "limbs". He smiled, already having several ideas as to how to explain the word.

"Time has started." Ryker announced, the boys getting riled out as Lawrence gave them a look.

"This autotroph starts out as a sapling, gives oxygen, goes through photosynthesis, and can be as tall as a building or even taller." Lawrence explained.

 _Tree._ Ryker guessed, nodding to himself as Ammy gave him a look of questioning.

"Tree!" Matt guessed, high-fiving Nyx since he knew that he had guessed correctly. Lawrence nodded and grabbed another card, the girls looked on with incredulous expressions.

The word this time was "Vampire", and the words Lawrence couldn't say were "fangs", "sunlight", "garlic", "blood", or "Dracula". Lawrence chuckled at the word, finding it amusing for some reason. He set it down on his lap, facedown so that his teamates couldn't see it. "This word is the name of a nocturnal species of the supernatural, they cannot go out in the daytime and the have superhuman speed and strength." he explained.

 _Vampire, obviously._ Ryker thought.

"A werewolf?" Nyx guessed, "bloody hell there's a load of things I could say."

"Can you repeat that?" Matt asked, Lawrence nodding in response though glancing at the time.

"These creatures are of the supernatural, cannot go out in the daytime for they could be burned and die-"

"Vampires! Crikey it's vampires, right?" Nyx shouted, Lawrence nodding before grabbing another card. However, once Lawrence looked at the word, he immediately grabbed another card and skipped the one he had picked up. "Too hard or you didn't like it, I'm guessing." Matt remarked as Lawrence nodded in approval of his new card. It was "Canine", the words he could not say were "fangs", "dogs", "teeth", "wolves", or "incisors".

"This word relates to all mammals, they are sharp and the other thing they could be are the animal support units of the police." Lawrence explained.

 _What does he mean by that? Hmm._ Ryker thought to himself as he rethought everything Lawrence said.

"Uh..." was all Nyx could say. He had absolutely no idea what Lawrence had just said.

"Animal support units of the police? What?" Matt asked, confused.

 _Animal support units of the police... Animal.. Sharp... Ah, "canine" or "K-9" ...no,its the former. K-9 doesn't relate to sharp at all._ Ryker thought with a smirk." About ten more seconds." he told them, Matt and Nyx growing frantic.

"They are in the corner of your jaws, all carnivores have it, you don't chew with these but you can tear or puncture with them." Lawrence quickly stated, Ryker nodding as that was a much better explanation.

"Canine!" Matt answered, Lawrence nodding with a chuckle. They cheered and the time ran out, Ryker handing Rachel a card for her to do. Rachel frowned, the word was "Mission" and the words she could not say were "quest", "soldier", "military", "classified", or "operation".

"Um, shit, uh, the guys in the army go on these." she said hastily.

"Operations!" Aurora immediately answered though received a shake of the head from Rachel.

"War? Helicopters!" Sissy guessed though frowned as Rachel shook her head once more.

"Um," Rachel began as she snapped her fingers and tapped her index finger on the ground.

"Hey!" Matt shouted, "You can't do gestures!"

"This isn't gesturing or anything! I'm just trying to think up something!" Rachel retorted.

"Hand movements are gesturing!" Matt shot back.

"Hey! This round shouldn't count because you're interrupting and you're wrong!" Sissy shouted, defending Rachel.

"She's right, if any hand movement is gesturing, then if I were to place my hands on my lap because it's comfortable, would that count?" Aurora added, nearly shooting up from her seat.

"No, but Rachel was pointing and everything! That's gesturing!" Nyx jumped in, Matt nodding vigorously in agreement. Lawrence took a glance at the timer, finding that the argument was delaying the progress. He decided to take advantage of the situation and smirked, adding his input as well.

"I'm afraid, my mistress, that was gesturing. Nyx has a good point."

"But she wasn't pointing at anything! It wasn't anything specific!" Aurora retorted.

Ryker looked at Ammy with an amused smile, Ammy giving him a small yip in confusion as she took a look at the arguing competitors. Ryker leaned back, taking a look at the timer. "And that's time." he announced.

"-doesn't matter! She wasn't trying to give it away like that!" Sissy shouted as she growled.

"What do you mean it doesn't freakin' matter?! Are you all daft?! She was obviously gesturing!" Nyx shot back.

"What the hell does "daft" mean?" Rachel asked aloud though it was more towards to herself.

All of a sudden, a small ball of **Void** appeared in the center of the group and gave off a small explosion, not enough to damage anything or anyone as it was of Ryker's will, though it did get their attention. They looked at him and Ryker have them all a weary look, disbelieving the fact that they were fighting over such a small matter, a game to boot.

"First of all, time ran out." he said, earning looks of apologies and embrassment from then. "Now, Matt, what Rachel did was not gesturing. It was an act of nervousness or anxiety and you could tell by the small beads of sweat on her fore head. Many people do that, including yourself without a doubt, and so your argument in null. Lawrence, you knew it was not any form of gesturing yet you instigated the argument to your favor." The girls cheered at Ryker's verdict though a look from him stopped them. "Rachel, you knew that there was no gesturing allowed at all and should have at least tried to restrain yourself. Sissy, there was no need to add in your input as it would only prolong the argument, turning the round over to the opposite team's favor. And Aurora, same goes for you. My, it was rather entertaining to watch you all bicker like that but we should move on to the next round, no points earned and the girls should have another go since Matt was the once who incorrectly accused them in the first place." Ryker finished, everyone nodding to him though the guys looked slightly angry while the girls cheered somewhat. Aurora simply pouted at Ryker who gave her a small wink which slightly irked her.

They ended up playing several more rounds, with the boys totaling up with seventeen and the girls with nineteen. The boys would of had twenty if Matt didn't read out one of the five words he wasn't supposed to read, Nyx saying the actually word, and Matt once again when he accidentally made a few gestures with his hand. Once the total score was announced, the girls cheered in victory and the boys simply hung their heads in defeat. However, even though they lost, everyone still had fun. However, Matt took the loss harder than his two teammates, he ended up sulking in the corner of the suite and sniffling could be heard from his area.

"Matt, quit being a crybaby!" Rachel hollered as she poured herself some juice. Matt turned his head around, giving an evil glare as well as a smirk to Rachel.

"Me a baby? Says the one whose books are as small as candy corn." he retorted with a laugh. Instantly, the sound of breaking glass could be heard and one could see Rachel standing there with fury, the broken cup and juice on the floor and her hand slightly scratched by the shards. Rachel yelled out in anger and vaulted over the counter, pouncing onto Matt who began to laugh maniacally.

"Matt, that's quite unbecoming of you to say. As for you, my mistress, you should avoid that remark and tend to your hand." Lawrence stated, making his way over to Rachel who was on Matt's back, making it look like he was giving her a piggyback ride. She yelled as she punched the back of his head over and over but Matt continued to laugh, getting on his knees and tearing up. Rachel had it, she wrapped her hands around his throat and throttled him. However, Matt still continued to laugh and he was leaking several tears now, not even feeling the pain through his laughter. Lawrence reached the two and gently pulled Rachel off of him, avoiding her thrashing fists. Matt was on the floor wheezing, his chest heaving and his face bright with a wide smile.

Over on the couch, Sissy was staring Ammy down. Earlier, Sissy sat down on the couch and made Ammy jump in fear. The pup quickly seated herself on the other side of the couch and ignored Sissy's claims of non-hostility. Now, the two were staring at each other, Ammy in fear and Sissy in wonder and confusion.

"I won't hurt you." Sissy tried. Ammy simply remained still, blinking every once and a while but no other movement. Sissy then scooted over a little, Ammy taking a step back. Sissy frowned and scooted over once more, Ammy taking two steps back this time. Sissy narrowed her eyes, Ammy whimpered as she didn't feel anything but air behind her. Sissy tried to reach out with a hand, only for Ammy to cry out in fear and nip the Arcanine on the finger. "Ouch!" Sissy shouted, waving her finger in an attempt to dull the pain. Everyone looked over, Aurora came out of the room and looked as well with confusion. Sissy felt self-conscious under their stairs and hid her finger behind her back, giving them a nervous smile. "Nothing!" she frantically announced as she felt a small amount of blood ooze from her wound.

The other four returned to whatever they were doing, Matt and Rachel fighting as Lawrence tried to stop them and Aurora taking a small nap in the room. Sissy let out a small sigh of relief, turning around to only to find that Ammy was gone. She then heard the sound of scampering pawsteps and looked to see Ammy running to the door, stepping back as Ryker opened it carefully. Ammy yippee and Ryker picked her up, chuckling as she nibbled at his shirt collar.

"Amber said that there's going to be a Talent and Battle Contest in the city today in celebration for the festival tomorrow night." Ryker announced, earning all of their attention. Aurora walked out of the room, having given up on taking a nap. However, she did hear Ryker's announcement.

"There is? Who's going to participate?" she asked, getting herself a cup of water. Ryker went over to the kitchen counter and sat on the barstool, Ammy jumping down onto the counter and watching as Aurora filled up her cup of water.

"Several trainers, Amber asked me to let Matt and Rachel know if they wanted to go. Basically, there's a Talent Contest for the first portion, the trainers would have their pokémon dressed up then perform something that would get the judges to vote highly for them. Then, the pokémon that pass would be thrown into battle. The Talent part would consist of eight Pokémon and four will make it out. By the way, each trainer sends out two pokémon for the contest. Anyways, the remaining four will participate in a double battle, one trainer against the other remaining trainer." Ryker explained.

"I want to participate." Aurora immediately announced. At this, Ryker was very tempted to warp out of the room. Again, he HATED attention, especially being the center of it.

"Aurora, dear, we just went to do karaoke the other day." Ryker told her in an attempt to convince her not to go.

"It'll be fun! I bet Matt and Sissy are going to go! Rachel and Lawrence too!" Aurora shot back.

"Actually," Matt said as he raised both of his hands, "Sissy is the only partner I have with me at the moment. My other friends are elsewhere, remember? We need two pokémon to participate."

"Me too," Rachel announced as she pointed at Lawrence who was fiddling with his l8ghter. "He's actually the only pokémon I have."

Aurors looked at Ryker, a pleading look set upon her face. Ryker glanced over at Nyx who quickly shook his head. "No way, I'm not getting dressed up in no bloody suit or something." Nyx announced, much to Aurora's displeasure.

"See? Even Nyx doesn't want to go. Looks like we'll have to sit this one out." Ryker told her, Aurora narrowing her eyes as an idea formed in her head. Ryker gave her a questioning look, then widened his eyes as he shook his head. "No! No, no, no, no!"

 **At the contest...**

"Which pokémon are you using to participate, sir?" the registration woman asked as she looked at the black-haired man.

"My Akirari and my Mightyena. And my name is Alpha Fang." he replied as he handed her his pokédex and license. She scanned them and nodded, giving him a tag with a "8" on it.

"You're contestant 8. Go down the hallway and enter the last door on your right. From there, dress up your pokémon and wait until you're called up to perform." she told him.

He nodded and walked down the hallway as she instructed. He took a look around, finding many people wearing extravagant clothing as well as many pokémon that were seated to watch the performance. In the center of the large auditorium, four judges were seated and they waited patiently for the contest to begin.

He went inside the dressing room, finding that the seven other trainers had already finished dressing up their pokémon and were waiting behind the curtains of the stage. A flash of light and Aurora appeared in her anthro form, giving him a smile as she donned the beautiful dress that Balto and Jenna gifted her with on her birthday. Another flash of light, this one being dark and tea Mightyena appeared. His fur was all black and he scrunched his eyes closed in annoyance as he donned a black blazer complete with a gray shirt underneath with black slacks. Aurora gave the two a smile.

"How do I look? Okay?" she asked with slight worry. "Striking." and "Of course" were her replies. She then nodded and turned to the Mightyena, holding his hand and nuzzling him. "Ready?" she asked.

"I don't want to be here." was all that he replied.

 **At the suite...**

"Wow, look at all the people there!" Matt exclaimed as he eyed the television. Sissy was next to him and nodded, scooting closer to him and crossing her legs which tickled her due to her being on the floor.

"Sucks for them. I can't believe he agreed to go." Rachel said, leaning against Lawrence's chest, the Gengar gently raking his fingers through her hair. They were quite comfortable as they were both lying on the catch. Ammy was sitting at the other end of the couch, keeping her distance from them. The only reason why she wasn't freaking out was because Ryker had told her to stay there and remain calm, she would see him on screen.

"And now," the host announced on the screen, "let the contest begin! Contestant 1, Joey Campbell, please take to the stage!" The crowd cheered as a blond-haired man with a mohawk walked onto the stage. He released his two pokémon, both being Gardevoir, and took a step back as they took a pose. The Gardevoir had purple dressed, there were bows on their hair and ribbons hanging on the sleeves of their outfits.

The two Gardevoir bowed as they distanced themselves from each other. One began to charge a pinkish ball of **Psychic** energy while the other was preparing a **Signal Beam**. Once the two were finished, they launched the two projectiles into the air. The two met and caused a glittery explosion to which the Gardevoir used **Psychic** and made a small twister with. The twister swirled all around the stage then into the air above the crowd. It dispersed as the contestants took a bow, the audience clapping for them as they went back behind stage. One judge gave a three out of four, another a four, another three, and the last gave a one due since he had glitter all over his suit, much to his displeasure. Twelve points total were awarded to Joey.

"Amazing! Creative too! Now let's see what contestant two cane up with!" the host announced.

As the contestants went one by one, Aurora beamed as their turn finally came. She took the Mightyena's hand and held it with loving as she prepared herself to perform. The two were returned to their pokéballs and a chuckle sounded as the host cleared his throat.

"Contestant 8! Please make your debut and show us what you got!

 **With Matt and the others..**

"I don't know guys, we just saw some pretty cool stuff." Matt commented as they watched their friends take to the stage.

"Oh, come on, Matt, I'm sure they thought up something." Sissy said.

They watched as Aurora was sent out, the Akirari bowing as she received an enormous applause. She was indeed beautiful, and her dress only added to it. Next, the Mightyena was sent out in a flash of black, him too bowing and receiving a round of applause. Some females cooed at him, for he was very handsome.

"Wait," Rachel said, "where did Ryker get the Mightyena? And where is Nyx, actually?" she announced, the others, save for Ammy who was distracted by the contest, gave her a look of incredulity and as they too didn't know.

 **Back at the stage...**

Aurora formed a ball of ice and fired it into the air where the Mightyena slashed through it with a **Shadow Claw.** The ice separated into many different shards but they remained in the air thanks to the two's psychic abilities. Aurora then fired one of the Suicune's signature moves, an **Aurora Beam.** The ray of colors made contact with the large ice shard in the center and the light refracted, sending the light into the other shades. The result was an imitation of the Northern Lights above the stage. The crowd cheered as they witnessed the beautiful sight. Aurora then summoned snow all around her, making a platform that raised her into the air. The Mightyena jumped and landed in front of her, using **Shadow Ball** to break the supporting pillar of ice underneath the platform. He then formed a small layer of Shadows, barely visible, underneath the platform which now floated and rotated slowly. Aurora smiled as she took the hands of the Mightyena, the two getting into position before dancing. They performed various moves with expertise, Aurora t one point was thrown into the air then caught by the Mightyena. All the while, the platform moved about above the stage, the Northern Lights above shined and caused the platform to glow as well. Then, at Aurora's will, some of the larger shards began to streak across the air. The Mightyena charged a small version of **Hyper Beam** in his mouth, firing the harmless beam of light in a fan-like motion above the stage. The streaking ice shards began to glow with a bright light, resembling a meteor shower. The crowd was awed as the two danced for a few more moments before the Mightyena cloaked his maw with fire, **Fire Fang,** and instead of biting, he channeled the flames into a **Heat Wave** and slowly melted the platform they were standing on. The platform slowly lowered to the ground as the two continued to dance. Finally, they reached the ground and the platform was now a large puddle on the stage. Aurora grinned as she manipulated the water into arcing up and forming a heart of ice, the crowd applauding and causing an uproar before the ice shattered into a beautiful, glimmering mist. The two then bowed before they were returned to their pokéballs.

"That was magnificent! Absolutely amazing! And look! A perfect score!" the host announced over the din, the judges all voted with four out of four hearts as the crowd cheered even harder.

 **At the suite...**

"... "

"..."

"..."

"That was beautiful, wouldn't you say, my mistress?"

The room remained silent and all that was heard was the television which was blaring celebratory music. The awkward silence was slowly getting to Lawrence who shifted his position. He then waited for a few more moments, hoping for someone to say something to ease his uncomfortable state.

Ammy yipped.

 **At the auditorium...**

"And here we are with the final battle as of today! Everyone please give a round of applause for Lance, the Dragon Master! Oh yes folks, he only gives a special appearance to strong trainers!" the host announced.

A red-haired man appeared on stage. He had brown and gray clothing on, a jacket and shit with pants, as well as a cloak. His eyes were brown as well though they were fierce, his smile intimidated most of those in the auditorium. Lance sent out his two pokémon, both of them being powerful Dragonite. They roared as they took to the air, circling around Lancer who smirked as the crowd cheered for him.

"Now folks, settle down. Anyways, please give another round of applause but this time, for Alpha Fang and his two companions! Isn't his Akirari beautiful? I think we may have a Legendary here since I don't believe we have any information on her at all! Also, please give it up for his Mightyena, the handsome black-furred canine with the tough look!" the host added. Another cheer cane for the crowd though it was hard to tell whether or not it was louder than the one they gave for Lance.

Aurora and the Mightyena appeared on the field though this time, Aurora in her **Altered Form** and the Mightyena in his normal bestial form. However, he was larger than Aurora! Everyone could clearly see the rippling muscles on his chest and arms as well as his well developed legs and abdominals.

"Hm? Both of your pokémon loon well-trained, Mr. Fang. Actually, your Mightyena scares me, I'll admit that." Lance remarked from afar. He then took a stance, his Dragonites readying themselves as well.

"3, 2, 1, begin!" the host called out.

"Dragonite, use **Flamethrower** on the Mightyena! Dragonite, use **Wing Attack** on the Akirari!" Lance shouted, both of the Dragonites apparently knew who he was referring to as he called out their commands.

Aurora fired a **Hydropump** at the **Flamethrower,** cancelling it out as the Mightyena used **Giga Impact** and knocked the unsuspecting Dragonite using **Wing Attack** out of the air. He then used **Thunder Fang** on it, paralyzing the Dragonite

"Oh, my! It looks like Fang is letting his pokémon attack without his orders! Know this, people, only skillful trainers do this with their pokémon. If either of his pokémon do anything illegal in the match, he will be held responsible and the win would go to Lance! If he's letting them attack on their own, they must be really trained!" the host announced as the crows watched with interest.

The Dragonite that was still in the sky charged at the Mightyena with a **Flame Wheel** as Lance ordered. However, the large, yellow dragon was suddenly blinded when the Mightyena fired a **Shadow Ball** at its face, sending the Dragonite to the ground with a crash. The Mightyena then jumped up and landed a fierce **Crunch** on the Dragonite's neck, earning a roar of pain from it.

Aurora froze her opponent's wings with **Ice Beam** , preventing it from flying again. She then turned into a puddle of water, solidifying once more when she got behind the dragon and inflicting massive damage on it with **Avalanche.** Aurora hopped back as the Dragonite groaned and shook of the mass of snow off of it's body, giving Aurora a glare before a ball of electricity began charging on its hard. The ball then turned into a beam and which shot towards Aurora who quickly dodged it, the beam hitting the other Dragonite instead.

"Dragonite! Who told you to do that?! Wait for my command!" Lance shouted as the two Dragonites regrouped at his side. The one that fired the **Thunderbolt** lowered its head at Lance in apology before returning its attention to Aurora.

Aurora and the Mightyena regrouped as well, the Mightyena leaned over to Aurora and whispered into her ear. Aurora then smirked, nodding as he returned to his previous position a few paces to the side of her.

"Dragonite, both of you, end this battle and use **Dragon Rush!"** Lance ordered, the two Dragonite pulled out two sharp Dragon Teeth, which upped their **Dragon** Type moves, and nodded. Both of them then glowed a fierce blue before taking to the air and diving at Aurora and the Mightyena.

"Now." the Mightyena muttered quietly to Aurora who nodded. The two opened their mouths and both charged a projectile attack, Aurora's glowing light blue while the Mightyena's dimmed the area with its black color. However, the Mightyena's attack started to become condensed before merging itself with Aurora's attack.

 **Black Ice.**

Aurora shot the beam at the two Dragonite, causing dark gray, nearly black ice to spread throughout their bodies. On contact, the attack burned the dragons' scales due to it being really cold and the cold spread to their very cores. The Dragonites found that they couldn't move and could only brace themselves as Aurora and the Mightyena jumped out of the way. Lance stared with disbelief as the two Dragonite crashed into the floor, sending debris all over. The crowd gasped and few uttered some exclaims of sympathy, the crash seem extremely painful to them. When the dust cleared, it revealed the two Dragonite unmoving with multiple bruises and bleeding injuries on their bodies.

"The Dragonites are unable to battle! Therefore, Alpha Fang and his pokémon win!" the host announced, the crowd breaking into another cheer.

 **The suite...**

"There was no way in fu-... freaking hell that they just beat Lance!" Rachel exclaimed as she shot up from her seat, Lawrence raising his eyebrows in surprise as he too didn't expect that outcome.

"That son of a gun." Matt remarked, also aware of Ammy's presence and shivered at the thought of Ryker coming back with Ammy suddenly shouting out curse words. Next to him, Sissy cheered for their friends and Nyx jumped from the couch with a victory gesture. They watched as the team got interviewed by the reporters and shook hands with Lance before the crowd settled down and dispersed, the contest already over. Aurora and the group left the camera's view, Matt and his group smiling in triumph.

At that moment, a black portal appeared and the group jumped at the sight. Ammy whimpered in fear though stopped when she smelled familiar scents. Out came Aurora and the other two, Matt and the rest of them relaxing a bit after realizing there was no danger.

"Wow! Look at those ribbons!" Sissy remarked, eyeing the two 1st place ribbons that Aurora, who was in her anthro form, held in her hand.

"Well, it was a team effort." Aurora replied though looked as Matt pointed a finger at the Mightyena.

"Who's he, you guys?" he asked, asking the question Rachel, Lawrence, and Sissy were thinking. Ammy got off of the couch and walked up to the Mightyena cautiously, sniffing him before yapping with confusion. The others looked at her, wondering what could be wrong. Then, the Mightyena looked at Matt and yawned.

"It's not polite to point, Matt. However, I do not blame you for being confused." he answered, the others save for Aurora and Ryker jumped at his familiar voice. He then winked at them, the rest of the group finally noticing his white-irised eyes.

The Mightyena was then covered in a veil of Shadows that rose from the ground, taking the form of a human figure before dispersing. When they cleared, gasps could be heard as Ryker stretched, waving his hand at the other Ryker which was covered by a veil of Shadows as well. This time, the shadows lowered a little bit and disappeared to reveal Nyx in his anthro form! This greatly confused the group though Aurora quickly smiled at them.

"I wanted him to participate and we decided to have Nyx be Ryker's double!" she explained.

"But-But how did you for that?" Sissy asked.

"Illusion." Ryker answered as he sighed wearily and mentally explained the situation as well as why he had such powers to Ammy. "I just disguised Nyx as myself and myself as a Mightyena. Aurora wanted me to dance with her and battle so I made it happen."

"..." Silence from the rest of the group who hung their jaws in shock. They then looked at Aurora who giggled, all of that just for her and Ryker to perform together? Impressive.

Ammy yipped.

 **Later...**

Ryker was playing with Ammy again, this time a small game of tug-of-war with a piece of rope. He chuckled as she gave something similar to a growl as she pulled at the rope. The rest of the group were playing another game of Taboo though Nyx tripled as both a team member and the timer as well as the score keeper. However, Ryker worried that there may be several arguments about the Umbreon cheating in some way. Suddenly, Ryker snapped to attention, alert and confusing Ammy who dropped the rope. Ryker then grabbed her and walked over to Aurora, setting her onto the Akirari's lap.

"I have to go." Ryker told them as Ammy to quickly whined at his retreating figure.

"Where are you going this time?" Aurora asked as she cradled Ammy who struggled in the hold.

"An important business to attend to. I may be gone for a while." Ryker replied, his ear twitching at Ammy's whines. He turned his head, giving the pup a reassuring smile. _**I'll be back, little one, do not worry.**_ he told her and Ammy relaxed with a slow nod, trying to get herself comfortable with Aurora. Ryker then waved a hand as he left the suit, leaving everyone there clueless.

"I swear, he's such a mystery sometimes. Actually, he's always really cryptic." Aurora muttered as she noticed the timer had run out though Nyx didn't call it out, signaling that he tried to cheat for his team.

"I wonder where he goes." Matt replied, rubbing his chin. At that moment, Lawrence cleared his throat and gained their attention, giving them a smile.

"I have a way to find out." he told them. "But, it looks like little Amaterasu is getting a bit sleepy." He pointed at Ammy who was trying to keep her eyes open, soon closing them and falling asleep in Aurora's arms. The Akirari grinned at this and held the pup closer, looking at Lawrence as he began to tell them how they could figure out what Ryker was doing. Aurora didn't want to invade his privacy, but she needed to know where he's always been going everyday.

 **Elsewhere, at a large factory...**

"Jeanne sent you too?" Balto asked, earning a nod from Ryker as the Fenrir stepped out of the portal. Ryker took a look around, they were standing on top of a large pipe that provided a bird's eye view of the entire area. Smoke emitted through the small openings underneath them and obscured their presence, anyone who would look wouldn't see a thing. Even if there wasn't any smoke, no one could've saw them anyway since it was nighttime in their area. Balto took out a sniper rifle from a duffle bag next to him, checking to make sure everything was working before laying down and looking through the sights. He had protective gear on him, also equipped with a few knives, four grenades, a shotgun, and an assault rifle which was slung onto his back. He was in his human form, the top of his head was covered by a beanie which was pulled up at the moment.

"What's the objective again?" Balto asked, his tone serious and grim. Ryker then produced two knives, setting them on his belt. He had his pistols at the ready in their holsters and a grenade clipped onto his belt. Like Balto, he was wearing protective gear though it was all black in contrast to Balto's being all gray. Ryker also took out a beanie, the headwear had two holes for eyes and the image on its front resembled that of Ryker's horrific helmet. For Balto, the image on his beanie was a white skull without a lower jaw.

"Clear out the entire factory and destroy all shipment crates containing the parts for nuclear weapons." Ryker replied as he pulled to down the beanie to cover his face. "Did you memorize the layout?" he asked, earning a nod from Balto.

"I'll cover you from here. Stay in my sights, they're thermal. Be sure to watch your six." Balto replied, Ryker nodding before jumping down from the pipe. He landed atop a building, spotting two guards armed with rifles walking on the railway underneath him. They were both wearing identical white uniform with helmets, covering their entire body so it was difficult to tell whether or not they were human or pokémon. Ryker turned around and saw that the railway was leading through the building and out the other and. Ryker nodded, already having a plan.

The two guards walked into the building, splitting up as one guard stopped to check his gun. After a few moments, he walked out the other end of the building to see that his partner was gone. The guard looked around, only seeing the other buildings and railings as well as a few other guards in other places. However, not one of them was his partner. Suddenly, a drop of blood entered his vision and hit the floor. The guard looked at the growing puddle of blood before looking up, seeing his partner tied to the ceiling with a stab wound to his chest. At that moment, he was punched from behind by Ryker then gasped as Ryker took a knife and slit his throat, killing the guard.

 _Anyone patrolling this route?_ Ryker asked Balto.

 _Negative, you can just leave them there for now. Continue on._ Balto replied.

Ryker nodded as he silently ran across the railing on the other side of the building, looking over the side to see two more guards walking on the railway below him. Ryker vaulted over, landing behind them and engaging the closest guard. He punched him in the side and ducked as the guard in front of them tried to stab him with a knife. The knife embedded itself in the other guard's shoulder as Ryker jumped over him, flipping and landing behind the guard that was still alive. He trusted a palm upwards, hitting the guard underneath the chin then kicking him the the stomach. The guard crashed into his partner and they both went over the railing, falling to their doom in the crevasse below. Ryker continued on, spotting the main building and running towards it as his ear twitched. He heard tiny snips of the bullets whizzing through air, meaning that Balto was taking care of any guards that were going to intercept Ryker's path. After about a minute, Ryker made it into the large building and checked his surroundings, finding many guards conversing and working on consoles and such. He spotted the stairs, making his way towards them carefully.

"Careful in there, Alpha." Balto advised through Ryker's earpiece as the building was too obstructed and thick for mental conversations. Plus, there may be psychics in the area and they could detect any mental activity. "I can't be your eyes in ears there but I can still see heat signatures, but I can't tell which one is yours."

"Heading upstairs towards the objective now." Ryker replied, Balto nodding to himself as he spotted a red heat signature walking upstairs which was Ryker. Ryker reached the top step and looked around the corner, finding many aisles of computers with guards and such behind them. He figured that if he's careful, he could sneak past them while using the computers as cover. He crouched, walking across the room whilst hugging the wall of computers behind him. He then stopped as he spotted a shadow on the wall he was facing, relaxing when it turned and went away. Ryker continued and turned the opposite corner, finding a large computer mainframe and walking up to it. There was no one around and it was safe enough for him to take out an explosive charge and set it up.

"Damn it! I can't see you! You're being blocked by too many things!" Balto warned in his ear, Ryker speeding up the process a bit. He then took out a flash drive and stuck it into the computer, pressing several buttons and hacking the computer quickly before beginning to download all the files. "Wait! There's two heat signatures behind you!" Balto exclaimed.

Ryker turned and readied his pistol, finding a guard with two mugs of coffee in his hands. He was shivering, obviously cold in the snowy weather. He looked at Ryker then at the alarm to his right. Ryker gave him a challenging look, the guard doing the same thing once more. Finally, he made a move towards the alarm button. Ryker immediately fired one of his silenced pistols, the bullet tore through the guard's head but his body continued to fall towards the button.

"Damn it." Ryker muttered as the two mugs of coffee fell to the ground, braking as soon as they hit the gtound. The alarm blared and Ryker silently cursed to himself before removing the flash drive, he found a window and dove out of it. When he landed, three guards were in his path. One of them charged at Ryker though he quickly delivered a kick to the guard's leg, then a punch to the gut before lifting the guard and throwing him over the railing. The second guard aimed his shotgun at Ryker though he could only gasp as Ryker took the weapon from him, shoved it to his chest, and fired it. The buckshot demolished the man's chest though Ryker kept firing while using the body for cover. The third guard was unloading many bullets at Ryker though the dead guard blocked most of the bullets. Ryker finally killed the last guard with the shotgun before pumping barrel underneath to reload it.

"Time to go." Balto said to himself as he grabbed the duffle bag and jumped over the ledge. He was diving through the air and landed on the ground with a huff, sprinting over to Ryker's area to back him up. More guards blocked their path and Balto took readied his shotgun, holding it with one hand. He fired at the nearest guard, turning around to deliver a backhanded punch to another guard. Ryker took out three more guards before reloading his shotgun once more.

"Shotgun." Ryker told Balto before throwing the weapon into the air, pulling out his pistols instead. Balto caught the second shotgun with his free hand and fired both of the heavy hitting guns at the mob of guards, quickly dispatching them. Ryker led the way, throwing an explosive charge at the buildings as they passed by them. They reached a walkway that was crowded with guards, two snipers could be seen atop a tower at the end of the walkway.

"Sniper." Balto called out as the two took cover. The sniper bullets whizzed by as the guards reached them. Ryker was the first to leave his cover and fired a bullet through the throat of one guard, taking the same guard and flinging him at a few more. He then pulled up a body of another guard as a bullet from the snipers embedded itself into the ground next to him.

"Switch." Ryker said as Balto nodded. Balto ran out of cover and vaulted over Ryker, firing his shotguns at the approaching guards and kicking over the two nearest ones. He had to reload and ducked as Ryker swung his arm and fired several bullets, each hitting their mark with deadly precision. Ryker then tool the body of the last guard and threw it into the air in front of the snipers' views, using the body as cover as the two ran up to the tower. Balto ran up the wall and kicked the sniper above him, taking the rifle and firing it at the other, killing the guard. "Clear." Balto announced as the two ran down the walkway. As they passed several crates, Ryker threw more charges and made sure his detonator still had the safety glass on. "How many more?" Balto asked as they climbed up to the level above them.

"Just a few more crates and all the shipment containers at the landing dock." Ryker replied as he punched an incoming guard, sending the poor soldier crashing into the ground before Ryker. However, his body bounced up from the force of the punch and Ryker kicked him away, sending him flying into a group. Balto ran ahead, dropping the shotguns and pulling out two grenades. He yanked the pins out with his teeth and threw them at each of the mounted torrents ahead of them which were occupied by soldiers. Ryker and Balto rolled to the side as the two grenades exploded, sending scrap and debris all over the walkway. The two then resumed their running, reaching the another large pipe like the one Balto was stationed at previously. Ryker set a few charges at the base of the pipe, nodding before they continued.

Ahead of them, they spotted the landing docks and several large containers and boxes. However the dock branches into three platforms, each had dozens of soldiers armed with rifles and such. Ryker and Balto skidded to a stop, looking at a soldier with red uniform arm on the center platform. The red soldier was in front of a mounted turret, the bullets would be enough to tear through tank armor.

"Give it up, you two!" the red soldier called out, "we can either do this the easy way or the hard way!" Balto and Ryker looked at each other, getting back to back as they estimated there were at least a hundred or so soldiers surrounding the.

"I can take more than half of them." Balto told Ryker who shook his head at the nonchalant wolf of light. Ryker then quickly pulled out one of his dentonators, pressing the button and setting off the explosive charges at the base of the pipe they had passed. All of the enemy soldiers looked on at the pipe, Ryker had planned on that and ran up to the center platform as they were distracted. He jumped onto the mounted gun, spinning and kicking away the soldiers surrounding him, and made use of the turret. He fired at the support beams under the other two platforms, sending the soldiers falling to the landing dock and the platforms crumbling. He then got off the turret as the skiers around him charged at him. Ryker jammed the trigger on the turret and kicked the barrel, ducking as the barrel turned and took out many soldiers in a full circle. Ryker then pointed the barrel down to fire at the platform he was standing on, splitting it down the middle as he jumped back to Balto's side. Balto quickly patted Ryker on the back as the fallen troops around them slowly got up, grabbing their weapons as the two readied themselves. Ryker suddenly took his two grenades and pulled out the pins, throwing them to his sides and he as, as well as Balto, rolled forward. The grenades went off and the bodies went flying, leaving a bit more than half of the soldiers left. Ryker pulled out his other pistol, aiming them at different targets and firing multiple rounds. Balto took out his assault rifle, bullets equipped with explosive round, and yelled out as he fired in a large circle, taking down dozens of guards and blowing holes everywhere. The two fought from back to back, arms over shoulders, sides to sides, and more as they reduced the numbers of soldiers at a drastically fast pace. Soon enough, all that was left was about a dozen soldiers or so who quickly looked at each other, wondering which of two options, dying by bullets or dying by jumping into the crevice, was better. Ryker then grabbed Balto, looking at the frozen soldiers in front of them and giving them a cold stare.

"We are done here. I suggest you all to leave before this whole factory collapses into the gorge underneath us." he warned, looking at all the others soldiers who began to regain consciousness or limping away. The group of soldiers ahead of them were the only ones in conditions capable enough to fight. Balto was about to ask Ryker what he planned to do but was interrupted as Ryker dragged him and together, they vaulted over the ledge and fell into the crevasse. The soldiers ran over and looked, seeing no sign of the two, and relaxed. However, relaxing was cut short as a series of explosions went off across the factory. The crates and containers on the landing dock exploded as well, sending some unsuspecting soldiers sprawling.

"Everyone get out of here!" the red soldier, the captain, exclaimed as they all scrambled to the helicopters that were thankfully spared from the explosions. When they all finally escaped, more explosions were set off and the railings and walkways gave out, causing everything above that needed support to collapse into the gorge. A moment later, a large explosion erupted from the area and a mushroom cloud rose in deep black smoke, fire from the explosion sailed to the ground and the area around where the factory used to be began to burn.

 **The Hall of Origins...**

 _Is it done?_ Jeanne asked, giving the two a look. Ryker nodded and Balto did the same, though the latter was giving a small smirk to the Arceus.

"We should be getting pay for this." Balto joked, earning a laugh from her.

 _You k I'd of are. Do not worry, your reward will arrive at your den within the hour._ Jeanne replied. She then turned to Ryker. _Would you like some form of payment as well?_ she asked him.

"No thank you, Milady. That would be unnecessary. Is there anything else you would like for us to do?" Ryker replied, his question amusing Jeanne somewhat as Zapdos passed by.

 _No, that would be all, Lord Fenrir. Thank you for accepting and please enjoy the rest of your day, you two._ Jeanne replied as the two nodded and went back to their respective areas after saying farewell to one another.

 **Back at the suite...**

They all stared, save for Ammy who was still asleep, wide-eyed at the dark scrying orb Lawrence conjured up. They didn't expect to see what went down with Ryker at all. For Aurora, she wondered why Balto was there too but then remembered he used to be in the army as well. Suddenly, they heard the doorknob turning and Lawrence quickly dismissed the orb, everyone feigning innocence and found something casual to do. Lawrence and Rachel were playing the staring game, Matt and Sissy were kissing, and Aurora was humming to the sleeping Ammy. Ryker walked inside, his face showed slight annoyance and they noticed it.

"Can you please come with me?" Ryker asked Aurora, the Akirari gently placed Ammy down on the couch before following Ryker to the room. As soon as she stepped in, Ryker closed the door and gave her a an arch of one of his eyebrows. "So, tell me why you all were spying on me?" he asked, throwing Aurora completely off guard.

"Well," Aurora replied with hesitation though figuring there was no point in hiding it, "you can't expect us to not wonder what you do whenever you leave by yourself."

Ryker sighed and sat down on the bed, gesturing Aurora to sit beside him. She did so and he immediately hugged her, surprising her. "Today was different from all the others times. I don't want you to find out what I do very day for a couple of hours and I definitely didn't want you to find out about the assignments Jeanne secretly gives me and Balto sometimes." he told her.

"Why did you do what you just did?" she asked as she leaned onto his shoulder.

"I'll explain that to everyone in the moment. But for now, I would like to ask you that from now on, can you please not do that? I don't want you to see what I have to do on those kinds of missions. The one I did just now, Aurora, was one of the missions that had the LEAST amount of bloodshed."

Aurors nodded and hugged him, Ryker hugging her back with a kiss to her forehead. "I'm sorry and alright, I won't do that again. But can you at least tell me where you go all the other times?" she asked with a small tone of hope. Ryker grinned and chuckled as he winked at her, leading her out the door.

"Now, now, that's a surprise." he told her, making Aurora gape at him with disbelief.

 **Later...**

"So in all," Ryker concluded, "instead of continuing my line of duty at the Kanto Army, I do militaristic jobs such as the last one assigned to me by Lady Arceus. In this way, I don't have to be in multiple places at once and watch my back every now and then. Like I asked Aurora, I would like it if you all didn't do that again. Can we agree on that?"

The group nodded and seem satisfied with the information he had given them. At that moment, Ammy woke up from her slumber and looked around, seeing Ryker stretching with a small yawn. She instantly yipped and jumped over to him, Ryker chuckling as he caught her and petted her on the head. Aurora smiled at the sight and leaned against Ryker's shoulder, feeling content though wondering what his surprise for her was.

 _Is there anyone else who knows about it?_ she asked him, Ryker knowing with amusement as to what she was referring to.

 _Indeed. Ragna knows though I made him swear in the Ancient Language not to tell anyone. Jeanne knows as well though I asked her to not tell anyone either. So basically, you're out of luck there._ Ryker replied, Aurora moaning in defeat and giving up on the subject. Aurora then looked down at Ammy, smiling as the pup returned her gaze with a small yip as well as a way of the tail. Aurora reached out and stroked the pup's back, laughing as Ammy shifted her position to make it easier for the Akirari to scratch her. Ryker chuckled as well, happy that the Seeker pup was starting to warm up to his mate. After all, Amaterasu was staying with him from now on. And with him, Aurora was usually nearby. The two were inseparable, so if Ammy couldn't trust Aurora, things would prove to be difficult.

Over on the couch, Nyx was watching a late-night comedy show featuring an aged blond-haired man with wrinkles at the eyes. The British Umbreon began to laugh as the host of the show began to insult his special guest, a celebrity who had been convicted of brutally assaulting a woman who was his girlfriend. "Oi! I don't remember hearing that little gem about C.B. ... Boy, that bloody man better makes sure he gets a lawyer because he just ruined her face! And faces are how celebrities make their money!"

Nyx continued to ramble off to himself as the others listened in, knowing of the situation that Nyx had spoken off. Over in the United States, a famous hip-hop singer assaulted his girlfriend, another famous singer, in an elevator. There was a camera in the elevator and it had caught the entire situation with the man brutally striking her. However, some sources say that his girlfriend struck first and he was only reacting in self-defense. That bit didn't help the man, however, as the recording didn't show the woman attack at all. And so, the man had spent a few days in jail only to get bailed out by his girlfriend who had forgave him due to the fact that they were arguing over something ridiculous, she had provoked him, and the fact that she was pregnant.

"Either way, you shouldn't lay hands on a woman like that. Even for self-defense unless it's under the worst conditions in the worst situations." Ryker muttered to himself as the celebrity on the show walked off stage, waving to the crowd and earning cheers.

Aurora caught his remark and smiled, poking him and giving him a giggle. Ryker chuckled and shook his head, turning his attention to Ammy who pawed at Ryker's hands, giving him a pleading whine. Ryker nodded, nearly slapping himself in the head when he realized what she wanted. He placed Ammy on Aurora's arms and went over to the kitchen, taking out the milk carton, which was running out, and setting it on the counter. He then walked over to the phone and dialed room service, waiting for a moment before someone picked up.

As Ryker ordered food for the group, Matt, Lawrence, Rachel, and Sissy were in an intense moment of Poker. Matt glanced around, trying to spot any tells from his opponent's faces. Lawrence did the same though was more subtle about it, looking at his cards and then at the ones in the center of them. He had a Pair, not bad but he somewhat doubted that the hand was going to beat the other three. He then noticed Sissy slowly wagging her tail, the motion nearly unnoticeable though he only noticed it since it made a small noise against the carpet. Judging by this, he assumed she had a great hand and sighed, wondering what the other two will do.

"I fold." Rachel announced, setting her cards facedown.

"I check." Lawrence said a short moment afterwards, sighing as he leaned back against the base of the couch. He then looked at Sissy who gave Matt a straight face, her boyfriend doing the same. In the pot, which was Matt's cap, there was 2400 yen, the game was at its climax and the remaining two could barely keep in their excitement.

"All in." Sissy said, trying not to sound smug as she placed the rest of her money, 80 dollars, into the pot. Matt narrowed his eyes at her, tapping his fingers against his current hand of cards before nodding.

"All in." he said, putting his 120 dollars into the pot and going nervous. He then exhaled deeply, relaxing himself and both him and Sissy flipped over their cards, revealing to them the winning hand.

Matt had four Aces and an Eight, a Four-of-a-Kind with a high-valued kicker, the Eight, as the fifth card. Such a hand was quite great, though not as much when compared to Sissy's hand. She had an Ace, a King, a Queen, a Jack, and a Ten of a suit. The other three gaped at the sight, their jaws unhinged dangerously low as Sissy cheered.

She had a Royal Flush.

"Damn it!" Matt wailed as Sissy gleefully collected her earnings, even donning his hat with a victorious wink. Matt got on his knees, punching the floor with a sob. He began to cry, the comical sight amused Aurora to no end. As Matt wailed into the floor, Rachel suddenly shot up and gave Lawrence a look of realization.

"Wait," she said over the din of Matt crying and Sissy shouting in joy, "why is he so sad when they're travelling together anyways? Besides, doesn't he keep all of the money? Sissy doesn't have a purse or bank account, does she?"

Lawrence nodded at her thought and chuckled, pulling his mistress over in a hug as Matt made for the bathroom in tears. When he went inside and shut the door, sounds of him blowing his nose could be heard and they began to laugh. "He's probably just in the heat of the moment, Mistress. They'll figure it out soon." Lawrence replied.

At this point, Sissy was dancing around, money falling from Matt's hat that she wore sideways, one of her ears stuck out the hole in the back. As Sissy pranced around, a pained grunt sounded from the kitchen. They all looked to see Ryker holding his hand in slight pain, one of his fingers was bent back and bright red. He noticed them looking and quickly gave a small way, giving a chuckle as he winced.

"It's nothing, a complete accident is all." he told them as he slowly closed the refrigerator door after pulling out a fresh milk carton, they noticed that there was a small indentation on the door and winced. Ryker had actually accidentally broke his finger with the refrigerator door.

"How the hell did you do that?" Aurora asked, a bit angry at him.

"My hand slipped as I was closing the door, my finger got caught in between the door and the frame which are kept closed by a strong, very strong, magnetic field." he replied, drinking the last of the first milk carton the opening up the fresh one. He gave an offering gesture to them, they shook their heads save for Ammy who made her way off of Aurora's lap and miraculously, jumped onto the barstool which was a little more than about a foot off the ground. Ryker smiled at Ammy as he closed the opening of the carton before shaking it, making sure there was nothing clumpy or solid within.

As he did that, he noticed Ammy was looking at his awkwardly bent figure. Ryker set the milk carton down and made a fixed look at the wall behind Ammy, his plan working as Ammy turned around to see what he was looking at. When she turned her head, the rest of them watched as Ryker took his finger and snapped it back in place, flicking the finger out and earning a few more pops before flexing it. Satisfied, he watched as Ammy turned back around and gave him a confused look to which he replied with a shrug.

"Room Service!" a voice called out from behind the door. Aurora Mandela her way over and opened it, thanking the person at the cart and grabbing everyone's orders before closing the door with a hand. She then handed them their food and gave a plate of raw steak, Ryker had asked and was surprised to find that they had the option, to her lover with a smile. Ryker thanked her, Aurora returning the thanks as she dug in to her plate of fish fillet. Ryker set the plate of raw steak down, the smell made Ammy eye the slab of meat with wanting.

Ryker proceeded to cut and place a chunk of the steak into his mouth, chewing it and mixing milk into it from his cup. Like he did several times before, he fed the gruel to Ammy before taking a bite of steak for himself.

"Why don't you get her some normal dog food or something?" Rachel asked, both she ad Lawrence stared as Ryker mouth to spoon-fed Ammy. Ryker gave Rachel a shake of the head, swallowing the chunk of raw steak in his mouth and not bothering to explain to them how and why he ate raw meat.

"There are very few brands that are made with meat such as chicken or lamb being the first or made ingredient, even fewer with _real_ meat. Also, those kind of products sometimes leave out important nutritional factors that you could only find in real meat that are not processed and such. Plus, Amaterasu is still a pup and she needs her milk, she cannot chew solids thoroughly at this point. So, the mixture I'm currently providing her is her best source of nutrition and food for the meat is raw and the milk has been infused with special minerals to replicate a healthy mother's milk." he answered, seeing her look of revulsion at the mention of raw meat.

"Mistress, raw meat is not bad as you think. There's simply a lot less flavor when it's cooked and all the moisture is dried out." Lawrence said to Rachel who turned green at his comment. Rachel turned to him, giving him a somewhat nervous look.

"You've eaten raw meat before?" she asked, somewhat jittery all of the sudden.

"Why of course," Lawrence replied, "back in my time when I was alive and had a very savage heart as Shogun, I used to dine upon the flesh of the men I played in battle. The looks the servants would give me were so satisfying, as I would eat in front of them. Sometimes, I would capture a traitor in my ranks and feast on his entrails in front of his family, to ensure that none of the rest of his bloodline would make the same mistake. Ah, the old days. I used to keep the eyeballs in a jar on a stand next to me as I slept, for I felt they were my security at night."

Everyone, including Ryker who was curious about Lawrence's past, looked over at him, appalled. He gave them a questioning look, shrugging his shoulders as he shuffled the deck of cards they had used in their game of Poker in his hands.

"...You're just joking, right mate?" Nyx asked, somewhat thankful that he had finished his meal as well as everyone else. If they hadn't, they would've most likely lost their appetite. Lawrence laughed, shaking his head and eyes watery. The rest of them, save for Ryker who had to return to feeding Ammy who whined at his sudden stop in action, sighed in relief as Lawrence's laughter died down. Lawrence then gave them a smile, shaking his head once more before leaning back and closing his eyes.

"Of course not." he replied, the group immediately relaxing. "Why would I keep the eyeballs? That would be absolutely chilling and even I would have to turn my back to them if I had a full jar on a stand."

His added response earned unsure looks from them, Rachel looking nervous as she smiled and touched his arm. "What about the other stuff you said you did?" she asked though her question went unanswered as Lawrence was already deep in a nap.

"... I'm sure he was kidding." Aurora announced with a nervous smile as Ammy gave a small yip of contentment, Ryker nodding as it meant that she was full. Ryker then smiled as Ammy hopped onto his lap and curled up to sleep, the former finishing up the steak himself as Rachel turned in fear of vomiting.

"Looks like the rain is going to last through the night." Ryker told them, noticing Ammy roll onto her back with her paws in the air whilst sticking out her tongue. The sight caused him to give an amused smile which then turned into a silent chuckle when Ammy began to paw at the air in her sleep. She seemed to have a vivid dream, a good one at that.

"Well, if it doesn't go away, then no festival for us then." Matt replied, finally getting over his loss at Poker.

"All the more reason to hope for it to go away. I heard there's some fun games and even dancers at the festival." Sissy commented, though she actually secretly hated the rain as it limited her fighting prowess. Sissy was one who liked to battle and being a Fire-type, she didn't like the fact that her flaming attacks would be halved.

"If only you can use **Sunny Day** to keep tomorrow's sky clear, right sweetheart?" Nyx asked her, yawning as he took a glance at the clock which showed that it was a little bit past 10.

"Yes, if only. But, it would only last for about five minutes. Any longer than that and it would start to drain me."

"I don't think people would react well to an abnormal change of the weather, we should just sit out the rainstorm." Ryker told them as Rachel got up and sat next to Aurora. Aurora turned her head, seeing Rachel with an unsure expression. She arched an eyeridge and Rachel sighed as she leaned close to Aurora's ear.

"Do you think Lawrence was serious? I don't want to ask him when he wakes up."

"I don't know him long enough to know, Rachel." Aurora replied as she made sure she kept her voice low. "I think it's best to leave the subject alone until he does something that deserves some questioning."

Rachel nodded and without a word, got up and left to use the restroom. Later that night, everyone decided to follow Lawrence's example and called it quits, each going to their respective rooms. Ryker laid Ammy in between himself and Aurora, making sure she head enough space before relaxing on the bed. Aurora took her spot next to Ammy and turned to look at Ryker, a smile on her face as she slowly stroked Ammy's head.

"You know," she said as Ryker turned to face her, "I really wonder what's in store for us now that we're taking in Ammy." Aurora then made a mental note and told herself to whisper, she sighed in relief when she saw that her voice wasn't loud enough to wake up the sleeping pup.

"I do as well." Ryker said, using a low tone of voice as well. He then kissed Aurora on the forehead, earning a smile from her as he leaned back onto the mattress. "All I know is that the future holds great promise for us. Now that we have little Ammy here,...Actually, I don't know how it's going to go from here."

"Say, this is perfect for us. By the time we fully raise her, we'd have enough experience to raise our own." Aurora said with an excited tone of voice.

Ryker frowned, he looked at the sleeping Ammy and Aurora cranked her head in worry as well as in questioning. "I don't know about that. When Ammy grows up, she may not want to be with us anymore. She may end up wanting for us to help her find her relatives or someone who knows her." Ryker sighed. "We're going to have to deal with that sometime, it may result in having to let her go but then again, we have to do the right thing." Ryker then gave Aurora a reassuring smile. "But yes, I'm sure we'll have enough experience with raising children so whenever you're ready, Aurora, just say the word."

Aurora nodded with a smile and sighed with content as she relaxed onto the bed. Soon afterwards, she fell asleep though Ryker was still awake. He was actually worried for Ammy at that moment. He noticed her quiet whimpers and erratic movements, concluding that she must be having a nightmare of some sort. Ryker narrowed his eyes and then closed them, reaching out for Ammy's mind and entering her dream.

 **Ammy's Nightmare...**

 _Ammy ran after the fleeting images of her parents, crying out for them in tiny whines and yips. However, her parents were slowly going out of sight, eventually disappearing altogether and leaving Ammy alone. She collapsed to the ground and began to cry, tears peppered the floor and soon, rain fell as well. She tried to call out to her parents again, her throat seared at the attempt so she eventually stopped and fell to her side._

 _Why did the poacher go after them? Why not any other wildlife in the forest? What did they do to deserve his attention? More and more questions filled Ammy's head and as they grew, her grief and sorrow did as well._

 _A black opening suddenly appeared in the middle of the dreamplane. Ryker stepped out of it, looking around to see an endless void._ _**Not bad. I can get used to this.**_ _he thought, then refocusing on the task at hand. Ryker picked a random direction and walked, scanning the area every few seconds to try and catch any changes. Sometimes, vivid scenes flashed around him, showing clips of the forest as well as fleeting images of animals that whipped by as if he was running past them._ _ **This must be the nightmare she's having. I'm getting closer.**_

 _Ryker continued to walk, eventually hearing small whining and the sound of falling rain. He sped up in his pace, walking for about a few more minutes before spotting Ammy on the floor. He noticed that she was a lot smaller than her usual size, concluding that she might have been feeling overwhelmed at the moment. Ryker slowed his strides, approaching Ammy with careful footsteps. When he neared her, Ammy suddenly jumped and gave him a terrified look. She wondered what he was doing there and how he even came to be._

 _ **"Little one, I know what's ailing you."**_ _Ryker said gently as he crouched next to her. Ammy remained still and only gave him a small glance before returning her attention to the spot she last saw her parents._ _ **"Is there anything you would like for me to do to help?"**_ _Ammy slowly shook her head, another tear escaping and mingling with the rain. Ryker sighed and gently rubbed her back with a couple of fingers, he was careful and knew that if he used his whole hand, which was bigger than Ammy's current body, he could hurt her. Ammy whined and finally moved, making her way into Ryker's lap and burying her muzzle into his shirt. Ryker whispered soothing words to her, raising a hand to block out the rain for her._ _ **"If you want, I can find you a new family, I can help search for someone in the forest that knows you. That is,if there is someone that knows you?"**_ _Ryker offered. Ammy slowly shook her head once more to both options, looking up at him and blinked a few tears out of her eyes._

 _Suddenly, a bright light flashed behind them. Ryker instantly turned his head to look, he was suspicious since it was an outside force of some kind. However, his tension suddenly dwindled when the glow died down to reveal two white full grown Seekers, both having remarking on their bodies though the male had black lines that bordered the red. They each gave Ryker a stare, one of which Ryker knew that it was a testing one. Then, the Seekers gave Ryker an approving nod, walking over to him and Ammy. The female, Ammy's mother, nuzzled Ammy's back only to receive no reaction from her daughter._

 _ **"Little one, I think you should look up from my shirt."**_ _Ryker said with a small smile. Ammy shifted and gave him a confused look before noticing her mother. Instantly, she cried out in happiness and hopped from Ryker's lap. She bowled into her mother who fell backward with a smile and landed on her back. As the two happily reunited, Ammy's father turned to Ryker with a smile._

 _ **Thank you, Alpha Lord, for rescuing and taking care of my daughter. However, I have another favor to ask you.**_ _the male Seeker asked Ryker._

 _ **"No words of gratitude is needed."**_ _Ryker replied with a small bow of the head as the rain suddenly disappeared._ _ **"Though, I have an idea as to what your favor is."**_

 _ **I'd expect that, coming from you, Milord. As for my favor, I ask that you please continue to take care of our daughter as if she was your own. Her only relatives are on the other side of the world and they don't even know about her. She doesn't have any friends either though I suspect that's obvious due to her only being only four months old.**_

 _ **"...I'll take care of her. However, that's if she wants me to. Yes, she is still a pup but I can't force her to accept me as her new parent."**_

 _ **That seems fair. But, what are you going to do if she refuses?**_ _Ammy's father shook his head._ _ **She would have nowhere to go and won't survive out there in the wilderness.**_

 _ **"There's no worry for that. I'll still raise her but once she's grown, if she doesn't want to continue to live with me then I'll let her go...In any case, I still need to ask you this: She's four months old yet she should be able to talk by this age. Assuming that you taught her to, that is."**_

 _Ammy and her mother made their way to the male Seeker. When she got close enough, Ammy hugged one of her father's leg to which he responded with a loving nuzzle._ _ **We haven't, we didn't think things would end up this way.**_

 _ **"I see. I suspected trauma though that's out the window now. Things are looking good for her though, she's a fast learner and she's already developing language skills."**_ _Ryker replied as he smiled at Ammy who gave him a happy Yip._

 _ **How so? Did you teach her?**_ _he was asked, this time, by Ammy's mother._

 _ **"She has been watching a very good television show that teaches the alphabet, numbers, and simple sentence structure. She watched an episode about nouns and proper nouns last night so it won't be Kong until she eventually starts speaking. I can already tell she's trying, very intelligent indeed, your pup."**_

 _ **That's great news.**_ _Ammy's mother turned to look at Ammy with a gentle yet serious gaze._ _ **Amaterasu, would you like to be with him? He'll take very good care of you and, as your father and I witnessed, he will be a great-**_

 _She didn't even get to finish before Ammy nodded to her question vigorously, nuzzling her parents before making her way to Ryker who was surprised at her actions. Ammy sat on her haunches in front of Ryker and gave her parents another nod, earning another smile from them._ _ **"Another thing, what is her real name? I don't want to take that away from her."**_

 _The two Seeker adults looked at each other before letting out a few chuckles. They then turned to Ryker and gave him amused smiles._ _ **Her name is Sunny, your name for her fits quite well actually. Though personally, I think your name for her suits her more.**_ _the mother replied. At that moment, Ammy yipped her agreement and caused the three of them to laugh. Later, they exchanged information with each other. Ryker asked more questions about Ammy while her parents asked questions about how would her life be with him from that point. With the latter, Ryker had assured them that he'd take great care of her as well as teach her how to defend herself, physically and with her powers though he'll only guide her with the latter since he wasn't a Seeker himself. The only thing he could help her with was the Fire element but not much else._

 _ **Make sure you don't cause him any trouble now, dear.**_ _her mother said with a chuckle as she nuzzled the pup who returned the action._

 _ **Yes, and know that we love you and that we'll always have a place in your heart. That way, we'll always be with you.**_ _her father added as he too, nuzzled her though with a lick to the top of her head. Ammy yipped and jumped onto her father's muzzle, hanging there as she returned the loving action. Her father chuckled as her mother walked over, amused as well at their daughter's actions. Ryker remained seated with a small smile, letting the family having their last moments together before departure._

 _Finally, Ammy returned to her seat on Ryker's lap, earning a small chuckle from her now official permanent caretaker. Her parents smiled at the sight before nodding their thanks to Ryker who bowed to them. He then made a clawed gesture with his hands and motioned outwards, surprising the two adult Seekers._ _ **"May your journey to the afterlife be safe and any further howls from the world of the living be to your memory. You shall be remembered, by your daughter and myself, and be forever respected among the children of the night."**_ _Ryker stated, his words having an otherworldly feeling to them. He then looked up and released a howl, his fangs were more apparent and his eyes predatorial as his tribal lines glowed darkly._

 **In the real world...**

A sudden howl sounded throughout the entire world though only canines heard it. Those sleeping were not disturbed though it didn't matter since their instincts responded silently. The howl lasted for about a full minute before silencing, the wolves, dogs, all canines that were awake bowed their heads in respect before howling to the moon. Then, their howls ended and they returned to whatever they were doing before.

 **Back with Ryker and the Seekers...**

 _The two adult Seekers were shocked that they received the Alpha's Blessing and bowed their heads to Ryker, their already great respect for him doubling. Finally, they gave their daughter a final nod before turning and leaving, going to the afterlife and soon resting peacefully._

 _Ammy looked at Ryker with confusion though at the same time, she wasn't confuse. Ryker only smiled as the world around them brightened and the horrific images went away. Instead, a beautiful view of the sun and the clouds replaced the scenes. Ryker gave Ammy a nod, leaning forward so that their foreheads were touching._

 _ **"Now then, I'm going to go through your mind and alter it a bit. It'll slightly speed up your mental growth to a point and other than that, nothing else will change."**_ _he told her. Ammy only yipped and wagged her tail excitedly before nodding in response to his explanation. The two sat there for a while before eventually waking up._

 **In the room, morning...**

Aurora woke up with a yawn, smiling at the sight of Ammy curled up on Ryker's chest. Aurora then shivered, her instincts flaring for a second before calming down. For some reason, she knew it wasn't anything bad and inexplicably, she knew it had to do with Ryker. Aurora only smiled as she kissed Ryker, only to jump in surprise as he and Ammy woke up at the same time.

"Morning, love." Ryker said with a smile before sitting up, Ammy cradled in his arms. Aurora giggled and hugged him, smiling at Ammy as the pup yipped happily.

"Morning. So, should I ask about what happened to me when I woke up?" Aurora asked as she poked Ryker in the chest accusingly.

"I'll explain that later." Ryker replied with a laugh as they turned their attention to an excited Ammy. "As for you, it looks like you're already ready to go do something." Ammy nodded and yipped repeatedly, she was really excited. So excited, in fact, she didn't notice that she was erratically pawing at Ryker's lap. Ryker chuckled as Aurora "awwwed" at the sight. "Alright then. What should we do first?" Ryker asked Ammy with a chuckle, smiling at the sight of craning her head as if she was in thought. Before she could do anything, Ryker and Aurora got up from the bed and they all went outside to find Matt and the other four already awake.

"Morning, chaps!" Nyx announced as Ryker and Aurora settled themselves on the couch, Ammy still on Ryker's lap.

"I'm about to get room service. What would you guys like to eat?" Matt asked from the other side of the suite, a phone in his hands. Everyone gave their orders save for Ryker who looked at Ammy with an arched eyebrow.

 **"I'd bet you want the same thing we had yesterday, right?"** he asked Ammy who yipped affirmatively. Ryker chuckled, he expected that and told Matt his order. However, he didn't expect what happened next.

 _D-D-Daddy._

Ryker froze, Aurora as well since she also heard it. In fact, they all heard it. They looked around the room to find the source only to jump at the sound of Ammy yipping at them. They returned their attention to her and Ammy got up on her hind legs, placing her fore legs on Ryker's chest as she nuzzled him.

 _I...want you..to..be my..daddy..._ Ammy slowly told them in response to Ryker's earlier question when they awoke. Ryker and Aurora looked at each other in shock, Rachel nearly fainting at the cute sight, finding Ammy's voice to be cute as well. Lawrence widened his eyes in surprise and Matt, along with Sissy, only stared. Nyx let out a gasp and fought his tears. Ammy looked up at Ryker, her eyes pleading and her voice quivering as she talked once more. _I..want you..to be my..daddy... Can you be my daddy?_ she asked.

Silence.

Ryker didn't respond, causing Ammy to start tearing up in fear he would say "No." However, she yipped in surprise as Ryker brought her up to his face and gave her a smile, cradling her closer to him and resting his chin gently on her head."Of course, Amaterasu. I'll gladly be your father." Ryker finally replied.

Ammy immediately cried in happiness and buried her muzzle into the crook of Ryker's neck. _Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!_ she reiterated over and over, Ryker smiling as he patted her back soothingly. Ryker then turned to the rest of them and gave a small smile, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly before returning his attention to his now adopted daughter.


	27. Chapter 11 (DR)

**Yeah! Amaterasu is introduced!...My excitement died, no shout outs this time, haha.**

 **Chapter 11: The Rival**

"...THAT IS SO 'EFFING CUTE!" Rachel announced aloud as they all continued to watch Ammy nuzzle Ryker. Aurora was happily crying, Matt was trying not to break down, Sissy was blowing her nose into a napkin, and Nyx was crying heavily into Aurora's shoulder. Lawrence was still shocked, he simply shook his head left and right the entire time as he wiped his eyes with a hankerchief.

Ryker lifted Ammy into the air after she calmed down, giving her a smile, one of which Aurora loved seeing from him. "Why don't we play until the food comes?" Ryker asked in a warm tone.

 _Yes!_ Ammy replied as Ryker set her down onto his lap again. He then produced a coin, seeming from out of thin air. He then closed his hand, showing her his other hand, which was empty, and closing it as well.

"Try to find the coin, alright?" he asked, receiving an excited nod from Ammy. He then gestured for her to pick one of his hands, confusing her since he didn't do anything at all.

 _Here?_ she asked with an unsure tone, indicating the hand Ryker showed her the coin with. Ryker smiled as he opened it, shocking her as there wasn't any sign of the coin in his palm.

"Wrong choice, want to try again?" he told her as she vigorously nodded, her face showing determination and excitement.

"They are so cute together." Sissy whispered to Aurora who nodded with a huge smile. They all watched as the two played, Ryker continuing to surprise Ammy though the pup did get lucky a few times. It was warm sight for them to watch, with Ryker now Ammy's father and the latter's first word being "Daddy". It was a beautiful start to their morning.

 **Later...**

"The rain finally stopped." Lawrence told them, glancing at a sleeping Ammy on Aurora's lap. The Akirari barely succeeded in convincing Ammy to allow herself to be held by her. Matt and Sissy were in their room, the two were sleeping since they had woken up really early. Rachel was drawing at the table, she was sketching a Nidoran running towards a pair of hands. The sketch was coming along really well and Aurora even commented on how great it look. The praise had caused Rachel to blush madly though she ended up thanking Aurora anyway.

"Aurora, can you watch Ammy for a few hours?" Ryker asked, picking a piece of steak from his teeth with his tongue. Aurora turned to him with a baffled expression, Lawrence and Rachel did as well though they kept their surprise to themselves.

"For what? Where are you going this time?" Aurora asked, looking at Ammy who shifted in her nap.

"Today is the meeting of the alphas. I need to be present or things will get...hectic."

"...What?"

"Yes, I need to go." Ryker sighed as he walked towards the door. However, his path was blocked by a barrier which was summoned from Aurora who gave him a glare.

"Explain." she demanded. Ryker gave her an apologetic look and leaned against the wall, checking his watch and nodding to himself.

"Every few years, the alphas meet up to discuss territory rights and such. If I don't go, I forfeit my title as Alpha Lord and step down, leaving my territory free for control...not that they would even try to rise against me." he answered though muttered the last part. When they didn't reply, Ryker sighed once more though glanced at Matt and his group, making sure he was careful with his words so that he didn't reveal too much about himself. "There are several alphas out there, Aniu and Demon included, and each of them have their own territories. For example, there is an alpha whose territory is North America. Another has control over Africa. For me, I have complete territorial rights to almost all regions here in Japan save for Kanto which is shared between me and the Pack. Again, if I step down, an alpha can take my territories AND my title though if they tried that...Actually, they're too scared of me for that to ever happen."

"...I thought you and Vulcan were the last." Aurora replied, also choosing her words carefully.

"We are. However, the other alphas aren't the same as us. They're of other wolf species. Anyways, other than territory rights, if things go south, one alpha may have his pack challenge another, resulting in a fight between both packs. However, that rarely happens so we have nothing to worry about. Now, ill be going and will be back later on today." With that, Ryker casually broke through Aurora's barrier and left the area, leaving them confused.

"Uh, what was he talking about?" Rachel asked as she wondered what Ryker meant about the alphas.

"Nothing." Aurora replied breezily, hoping they wouldn't question about Ryker any further. Then again, she was slightly confused herself. She wondered how things will end up on Ryker's end.

 **Unknown Location...**

They had all gathered in a large circle, there was a moderate amount of space between them. There was about a dozen alphas, among them were several different species of wolves such as Dark or Light. There was even a Lycanthrope as well as a few Demon alphas. They were all arguing with one another, sending spittle across the field as they were in their anthromorphic forms.

 _What do you mean by 'It wasn't my fault'?! My nephew was in YOUR care when he was murdered, you bag of fleas_. one alpha, a demon wolf, shouted. He had gray fur with several bits of torn flesh hanging about. His muzzle was barely attached to his head with a few strands of flesh and one of his eyes were missing.

 _He wasn't even part of my pack, you should've thought twice before sending him over to my territory. Besides, things like that happen all the time. It's not as if I constantly watch my pack members 24/7. What happened to your nephew isn't any of my concern. Though, I guess I can introduce you to the ones who killed him._ another alpha, an ice wolf, replied calmly. This one had snow white fur with tinges of blue all around. His eyes looked as if they made out of crystals and with every exhale, a cloud of his breath would appear.

 _NO, I WANT TO EVEN THE SIDES WITH YOU! Bring me YOUR nephew and then we'll talk of peace_. the demon wolf shot back, snarling as much as he could without causing his muzzle to fall apart. The ice wolf alpha grinned at him, showing true amusement in his eyes. The other alphas stopped their arguments to take a look at the two, finding that their conversations were much less interesting than the one between the ice and the demon wolf.

 _Peace? Who said there was going to be any peace? Once I bring my plan to reality, I will have control over both Antartica AND the Middle East_. the Ice wolf replied.

Aniu leaned closer to Demon who gave her a small frown. She nodded in understanding before they both returned their attention to the fighting alphas. _At this rate, there will be bloodshed. But, I do see Gore's point. I wouldn't want for my nephew to be killed like that for no reason, even if he was on another's territory._

 _While that may be true,_ Demon replied as his ears canted to the direction of the arguing alphas, _Siegfreez is right. It was Gore's and his nephew's choice to enter another pack's territory and as a result of arriving unannounced, the poor younglings got killed. Cold as it is, Siegfreez isn't exactly in the wrong._

Aniu frowned at her mate's reply though remained quiet. They watched as the argument between the demon and ice wolf grow more heated, eventually they were both snarling and snapping at each other. However, a sudden darkness fell over them. Most of them shivered even though it was actually really hot outside, the sun wasn't even shining on them! They all looked to ahead of them to see a shadowed figure settle itself on a rock pillar. From the looks of it, it was sitting on its haunches and eyeing them with indifference. Some of the alphas shivered once more, the figure's white eyes intimidated them to no end.

 **"Cease your bickering. I did not come here to listen to your infantile quarrels."** Ryker told them, the alphas' ears rang with every syllable as they listened to him speak in his language of the Fenrir. The first time he spoke to them as such, it caused them to explode in shock and the like as they figured out he was a Fenrir. Ryker scanned the area before him once more, silently acknowledging Aniu and Demon who each gave him a ghost of a smile.

 _Milord,_ one of the alphas, a large dire wolf, started, _we apologize for our childish antics. Now that you're here, we can finally get on with the meeting._ Ryker noticed with hidden amusement that the alpha was trying to hide the fear in his words. The dire wolf was almost shaking, Ryker could smell the fear that was coming off of the former.

 **"Yes, let's get on with it."** Ryker said as the group settled down. He then looked at one of the alphas who was clearing her throat. She was another demon wolf though her appearance wasn't as gruesome as the other. In fact, she looked perfectly normal save for her large size and blood-red eyes.

 _I would like to start it off by saying that I want to expand my territory._ she announced, her voice wizened and warm.

 **"By how much? China is quite large and any further expansions of ridiculous size would prove to be difficult to contain."** Ryker said as he arched an eyeridge, the action went unseen due to his cloak of Nothing. The power of Void, also known as Chaos, was far superior than Darkness. In this case, the "Darkness" of Void would be Nothing.

 _Nothing too much. I just want to spread my territory to Vietnam, Saigon specifically._ the she-alpha replied. _Then again, Alpha Lord, in response to your claim of China being large, wouldn't that make your territory seem even more so? If I recall correctly, your territories are all of Japan, England, Mexico, most of Australia, and Alaska._

 **"That is only because Lady Aniu and Lord Demon allowed me to have power of their pack. With them, I can handle a lot more territory...Unless, of course, you all want the same kind of responsibility. Though I'm fairly sure that you all want to stick with either one large territory of a few small territories. Am I correct?"** No one replied to that. **"Now, yes, Lady Kor, you may expand to territory to Saigon. However, no further expansions unless you want to give up some parts of China or Saigon entirely."**

 _Thank you, Milord. And of course, no further expansions._ Ryker then noticed a slightly angry alpha to his right. He could almost feel the anger which came off like waves of heat. This wolf was a fire wolf though Ryker knew that the angry alpha had a special ability to spit acid.

 **"And what about you, Lord Shaxx? It seems you want to get something off your chest."** Ryker stated as he shifted in his spot, placing one of his fore legs over the other.

 _I want to give up my control over Thailand and the Philippines in return for control over India and Yemen._ he replied with a small growl, obviously he was angry at an incident of some kind.

 **"Let me correct you, you are not "controlling" anything. You, as well as everyone else here, are to** _ **oversee**_ **in case of rogue wolves or anything that is forbidden such as human consumption or cannibalism."** Ryker told him with a hidden edge in his tone. Shaxx muttered to himself though Ryker caught it, the Fenrir rose from his position and leaned his head closer to the angry alpha. **"Would you like to repeat that? It's not my fault that your two territories are going through tough times, food becoming scarce and human interference is something you should have thought about before jumping at the first opportunity to claim those two."**

Ryker then heard the others converse amongst themselves, mostly about Shaxx's behavior and how calmly The Alpha responded. Ryker even caught rumors of a few of them planning to usurp him, he inwardly chuckled at this and gave a grim smile to Aniu and Demon who were remaining silent. Ryker then turned to Shaxx once more and gave him a small shake of the head.

 **"I deny your request. It seems that you are growing quite power-hungry and one day, you'll learn to deal with what you have instead of complaining about it and blaming everyone else for your ignorance."**

At this, Shaxx audibly growled at Ryker, spittle dripping onto the ground below him. "You are a joke!" he snarled, being the first one besides Ryker to actually use his voice. "You are a CHILD compared to us and don't think because you're a Fenrir that you're automatically a lot more powerful than the rest of us! I say, WE should take most of the territories, not you! I'm not going to stand by and let a pup order me about and scold me as if I'm inferior!"

As Shaxx said this, a few alphas took his side and growled at Ryker, who, for once, showed amusement. They stopped when they heard a dark chuckle sounding from him and only backed away when he jumped onto the ground, the grass and dirt turning black then to nothing as his paws made contact. Small jets of flame escaped Ryker's nostrils and the fire that lined his family brand and surrounded his spikes and horns flared with moderate intensity.

 **"Ah, but that is where you're wrong, Shaxx."** Ryker began, taking a step closer to them. **"I may be young compared to most of you but that doesn't mean I lack knowledge and such. Also, I would like to add that I'm not** _ **assuming**_ **that I'm more powerful and superior than the lot of you. I** _ **know**_ **that I'm more powerful than all of you though I respect all of you, save for yourself, of course."** This statement stirred uneasiness in the watching group though they felt honored that The Alpha respected them so. They continued to watch as the four uprising wolves suddenly attacked the Fenrir.

Three of them, not including Shaxx, charged forward only for Ryker to give them an emotionless stare. They immediately whined and lay on their bellies with their tails in between their legs. Ryker walked passed the submitting wolves and dismissed them, having the three return to their original spots. Shaxx backed away with fury in his eyes as he avoided looking directly at Ryker's eyes. He then sprayed the ground in front of him with acid, the chemicals burned with an audible hissing sound and a foul smell rose into Tue air. Shaxx smugly chuckled and looked at Ryker with a smirk only to be shocked significantly when Ryker walked straight through it. The Fenrir had shifted into that of an anthromorphic figure and the boots he wore seemed to be heavily resistant to the acid.

 **"Hmm. Acid. Dangerous to many, harmless to few."** Ryker said as he bent his knees and cupped a handful of acid. They all watched with horror as the green substance melted away Ryker's flesh and eventually, ate away at his bones. Ryker, however, didn't seem all that worried and continued to make his way over to Shaxx who now viewed the Fenrir as a monster. When Ryker reached Shaxx, he grabbed one of the fire wolf's arms and Shaxx began to scream. His arm began to shrivel up and eventually, it looked like like it was devoid of muscle...or even tissue and bone. They watched silently as Ryker raised his rotted hand, revealing that it was now perfectly fine. With that hand, he suddenly delivered a swift punch to Shaxx's abdomen which caused the receiver to double over in pain. **"This is what happens when you attempt to attack me. I fight back. This is all self-defense, of course, I'm not bloodthirsty."** Ryker then lifted Shaxx by the head and held him up to his eye level. At the moment, Shaxx noticed with a shiver that Ryker was wearing a metal mask that sent chills down his spine. The mask was like that of a wolf's skull, tribal lines trailed on its muzzle and head. Ryker's horns were visible and were protruding from three holes in the mask, four on the top, two at the jaw, and two at the end of his muzzle. His chin spike was also visible though what caught Shaxx's attention the most was the eyes. Other than the jaw of the mask, which was terrifying on its own as it opened and closed as Ryker talked though showed nothing within, the eyes of the mask were two simple holes that were shaped as if the skull was giving a cold glare. Complete with the intimidating armor, the mask gave the Fenrir a hellish look to his already intimidating look without the armor.

 _His eyes..._ Shaxx thought to himself as he gave another involuntary shiver. He then choked as Ryker tightened his grip, the claws of the gauntlet dug into his neck and drew blood. Shaxx brought up his arms and tried to loosen Ryker's grip on his neck, only to fail miserable as Ryker tightened his hold even more. At that point, Shaxx began to see dark spots in his vision and as he was on the brink of losing consciousness, Ryker released him. Shaxx fell to the floor, gasping loudly for air and coughing madly. Those who watched were horrified by the scene, even impressed as well. Aniu and Demon only nodded in approval though in truth, they wanted to go back to the pack den as soon as possible.

 **"There's nothing that gets your heart pumping faster and fuels your fear to the brim like being on Death's door."** Ryker said as Shaxx struggled to his feet. Ryker then narrowed his eyes. **"Resist and you forfeit your life. Submit and you will walk away alive but without your status as an alpha."**

Shaxx began to laugh, wheezing through his teeth and clutching his neck in pain. He then spat on the ground before the Fenrir's feet and gave a rude gesture with a single finger. "I will NOT submit to you, child! You think this will allow be over?! Just wait and see! I WILL become the most powerful there is and there's nothing you could do to stop me! Not now, not e-!"

 **"So be it."** Ryker interrupted in a calm tone as he turned around and walked away. They all watched as Ryker made his way to the pillar and flicked his claws, sending blood across the grass before taking a seat on the pillar. Confused as to where the blood came from, the rest of them turned to see Shaxx stare with a confused look. He then felt his neck in wonder before four red lines appeared across his throat. Next thing they knew, Shaxx's head fell to the ground and rolled towards the acid puddle. As his body fell, they saw that his face still had the confused expression before his entire head rotted away in the acid. In the next moment, his body was engulfed by Void flames which left nothing behind, not even the blood. **"Let us continue the meeting."** Ryker stated as he shifted back into his **Altered Form,** glancing at the other three attackers who got into submissive positions at his look. Ryker nodded slowly to them and they relaxed, relieved that The Alpha was willing to give them another chance. However, they knew that they would end up just like Shaxx if they tried something like that again...or worse...

 **At the suite...**

 _I want Daddy..._ Ammy whined in a low tone as she took her eyes off the TV. She woke up a couple of hours earlier only to find that her father left the suite. Ammy sighed, though still amazed at how easy it was for her to form sentences and talk mentally. How did that happen? She then remembered her dream a and how Ryker, Daddy, taught her communication skills. Ammy suddenly jumped as Nyx came to her side, taking a seat next to her. She relaxed slightly at his warm smile and returned to her laying position.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, he'll come back soon." Nyx told her, cheering her up a bit. In the kitchen, Aurora suddenly stopped cleaning and cranked her head as Ryker suddenly nudged her mind from afar.

 _Yes, Ryker?_ she asked as she lowered her mental defenses.

 _Aurora, about me coming back in a few hours like I said I would...Things got...complicated._ Aurora's hand, which was gripping the wash cloth, twitched

 **With Ryker..**

Ryker shivered as he glanced at the meeting before him. He swore that he could feel her smiling at him from back at the suite.

 **Back at the suite...**

Aurora gave a sweet smile, one of which Matt noticed and backed away from. He was going to approach her to see if she wanted anything from the Pokémon Center's bar but decided against it. Aurora's hand twitched once more, she glanced at Ammy who struck up a small conversation about stars with Nyx. _What do you mean by "complicated."_ she asked him.

 _...Very complicated? To the point where one would have to discuss about who to replace a decapitated alpha wolf?_

 _..._

 _Aurora? Are you still there? Is the connection growing weak?_

 _One hour._ Aurora finally replied, taking the wash cloth and violently scrubbing away at a stain on the counter. All the while, she still had a sweet smile on her face. _ONE HOUR. If you're not back by then, Ammy is going to be disappointed and...I will be disappointed. And when I'm disappointed..there's consequences._

 _...Did you say "consequences?"_

 _Consequences, honey, dire consequences. Now, I don't want to keep you. Finish up that meeting~._ Aurora finished with a sing-song voice as she finally removed the drain on the counter. When she turned to put the cloth away, she didn't notice the imprint of her knuckles on the counter, the imprint was engraved about an inch or so deep into the counter.

 _W-Wait, Aurora! What consequ-_. Ryker tried to reply but Aurora cut off their connection and began to hum to herself.

 **Back with Ryker...**

 **"..."**

 _Milord, is there anything you would like to add?_ Kor asked as she noticed his distanced expression. Ryker simply shook his head, exhaling heavily before returning his attention to the lot. He then cleared his throat, interrupting the ongoing negotiations such as trading territories and such.

 **"I must be going, there is something I must attend to and anything you would like to request will have to wait. However, the next meeting will come sooner than usual and as a gift from me, I allow all of you to trade territories as much as you want without me supervising."** This earned grateful gasps from the group and looks of admiration as well as shock. Really though, all Ryker wanted to do was to get back to the suite as soon as he could. **"However, should any one of you break any rules of negotiation or trick one another, there will be no more talk of peace of trade. Instead, it will be every wolf pack for itself. All territories will be available to take over, with bloodshed or not."**

They nodded their agreement to him and he nodded back, giving Demon and Aniu a farewell smile before leaving the area. As he left, Aniu leaned over to Demon once more and gave him a shake of the head. _I swear, he gets more and more brutal the longer we're not around him. Cold too._ she told him with a sigh as they tried to block out the many conversations before them. Demon chuckled and nuzzled her, earning a another sigh, this one of content, from Aniu.

 _Good thing he and Aurora are inseparable then._ Demon replied with a laugh. Aniu laughed at this too and before long, they left the area as well. One by one, the alphas left the clearing after finishing their negotiations. As the last one left, the entire area turned black and dissolved away, as if the land itself didn't want to get discovered.

Ryker walked up the stairway leading to the suite and stopped as he received a message on his phone. The sender was from Jeanne though the topic of the conversation didn't worry him as it read: _Read this when you're not busy._ Ryker placed his phone back into his pocket and reached the suite door, sliding a card through the scanner before turning the knob and stepping inside. Ryker went inside to see Nyx and Ammy playing hide and seek and Aurora making noodles. Ryker figured that she went out to shop for food instead of relying on the Pokémon Center to feed them. Matt and Sissy were now awake and watching a movie in the living room with Rachel and Lawrence, the Gengar's nose buried in his book.

 _Daddy!_ Ammy exclaimed as she completely forgot about her game and ran over to him. Nyx chuckled at the sight of Ammy jumping into Ryker's arms, Ryker smiled as she nuzzled him and gave Nyx a thankful nod for playing with her.

"You're back." Aurora stated, the tone of her voice made Ryker cringe and slowly edge away from the kitchen. All of a sudden, Ryker jumped, as did Ammy, when a knife buried itself right in front of his path. Slowly, Ryker turned to look at Aurora. Ammy was shaking at the tension between the two and the others watched with amused expressions. Not even looking from the boiling noodles, Aurora threw in a few more ingredients and with her other hand, slowly wagged a finger towards herself to Ryker.

Without a word, Ryker made his way over to Aurora. Ammy somehow knew he was in trouble and decided to hop out of his arms and instead, followed close behind him. When Ryker reached Aurora, the Akirari finally turned her head to look at him and gave him a sweet smile. Everyone, including Lawrence who didn't even see it, shivered at the sight though Ryker kept his hidden. Nervously, Ryker smiled at her and gestured to the pot. "Making noodles, I see." he meekly stated.

"Yes." Aurora replied, her tone of voice sounded as if she suggested for him to go on.

"So you went grocery shopping earlier?" Ryker asked though it was more of a statement. Again, Aurora nodded in reply to his question though didn't say anything that time. After another few moments of silence, Ryker scratched the back of his head and looked at one of her hands, she was holding a large knife meant for butchering meat. "Sorry?" he tried, almost whispering.

Instantly, Aurora began humming and released her hold on the knife. She simply nodded and returned to cooking as the rest of them finally relaxed. Ammy looked up at Ryker and pawed at his foot, getting his attention. _Scary._ she whispered, Ryker only giving a weak smile before picking her up. She then gave a small yip as her stomach growled. _Can I eat?_ Ryker looked at her and gave another smile.

"Of course you can." Hesitantly, Ryker turned and tapped Aurora once on the shoulder."Is there any-?"

"It's in the fridge. Top shelf. Raw lamb." Aurora answered, flashing him a smile before dumping a handful of cut greens into the pot. Ryker nodded his thanks and went over to the refrigerator, grabbing the lamb and the carton of milk before sitting on the couch with Ammy. As Ammy took her spot on his lap, Matt leaned over to whisper to Ryker.

"How long do you think she's going to stay like that?" Matt asked, referring to Aurora who sighed with content back in the kitchen. Ryker took a quick glance at her and shrugged his shoulders.

"Probably not for long...as long as I don't irritate her." Ryker answered as he cut a piece of raw lamb and popped it into his mouth. Before chewing, he looked at Ammy with a smile and scratched her ear. _Why don't we play a game while we eat?_

 _Yes! A game and I can eat too!_ Ammy replied, excitedly pawing at his lap whilst sitting on her haunches. Ryker noticed that she did the cute action and chuckled before he began to chew the chunk of lamb.

 _Here is the only rule, mimic what my ears do in the exact pattern._ Ryker replied as he poured the milk into his cup and drank some, then transferring the gruel from his mouth to the spoon before feeding it to Ammy. The Seeker pup craned her head in confusion and gave him a lost expression.

 _"Mimic"?_ Ryker immediately knew what was the problem and petted her head gently, he smiled at her relaxed sigh and then made a mental note to himself to give Aurora a message later that day.

"Do the same thing I do." Ryker explained, Ammy nodding in understanding and wagging her tail as she waited for his first move. Ryker's left ear suddenly canted, twitching downwards before coming back up. Ammy copied the movement and Ryker watched with a smirk as he noticed that she didn't mirror his movements. She didn't use her left ear as he expected, but she was smart enough to know that since he used his right ear, she should as well. Mirroring him would have her use her left ear and that would be wrong in a sense. "Good. Now, let's see if you can keep up."

Ryker fed her another spoon and had one himself before twitching his left ear, then his right, both ears, his right ear, then back with his left. Ammy copied the pattern exactly, impressing him since his earlier movements were done in quick succession. _This is easy._ Ammy remarked, earning a narrowing of the eyes from Ryker.

"Easy? We'll see." Ryker replied as she giggled and yipped. As the two played their game and ate, Sissy and Rachel watched the heartwarming sight instead of watching the movie. Matt, being the only one who was paying attention to the TV, sighed when he noticed what the girls were doing and paused the movie for later. He then noticed Lawrence's book, it was plain with no picture or title on the cover.

"Wat'cha reading, Lawrence?" he asked as he got up and stretched. Lawrence glanced at Matt for a second before eyeing his book again. He turned a page, smiling after he read a passage.

"'Stay golden, Ponyboy.'" Lawrence replied, quoting from the book as he frowned at whatever happened next. Matt only gave him an arch look before looking around the room.

"Where's Nyx?" he asked just as the Umbreon came crashing through the window, his wings shimmering before disappearing from his back. Matt and his friends watched silently as Nyx got up and limped over to the couch, taking a seat by Ryker.

"I'm okay. Blooming airplane made me catch turbulence." Nyx explained as Ryker laid a hand on his hand. In the next second, Nyx's cuts and bruises healed as a veil of Nothing covered him. When it lifted, Nyx found that he was completely fine and thanked Ryker who simply nodded before continuing what he was doing with Ammy.

"Are you sure you're fine, Nyx?" Aurora asked from the kitchen as she turned down the burner on the stove.

"Yes I'm sure, darling, thank you. Your mate made sure of that just now."

"Good. Are you going to go back out to fly? You were only out there for about ten minutes."

"Yeah, once I get my energy back, I'll get back out there. Need to stretch my wings...bloody hell that airplane was huge. How did you guys not notice it flying over the city?"

"What did it look like?" Ryker asked as he gave Ammy a twenty-step pattern...She copied it flawlessly.

"Well, the body of the plane was really narrow and the wing tips were bent upwards. The tail was shaped like a "T" and there was an engine on either side of it...Now that I think about it, the plane was shaped like a...Damn, I need to stop myself before my mind goes to the gutter..."

"It sounds like you're describing a private jet, their engines are usually silent to us when they're in high altitude." Ryker replied as he tried to think of a new and harder pattern for Ammy to copy, the latter no longer hungry and sitting attentively.

"Really? Huh. Well, it definitely wasn't silent when it flew over me." he commented before stretching his limbs.

"...You're really good at this." Ryker remarked as Ammy gave another giggle, yipping as she noticed his phone slipped somewhat out of his pocket.

 _What's that?_ she asked, sniffing his phone.

"My phone, it helps me communicate and send important messages to people far away." Ryker replied, remembering the message he received from Jeanne. He then decided to read it, Aurora walked over and sat on his other side and leaned on him.

"Food's almost done, guys. Just let it sit for a while." she announced as she happily relaxed, her earlier scary mood gone. She then looked up to see Ryker and gasped, he had a wolfish smile set upon his face. His eyes fainted dangerously and his fangs seem to grow an inch or so from their normal size...not that they were normal in his human appearance anyway. "Uh, what is going on, Ryker?"

Ryker turned to face her, his unusual expression..well, unusual for him, still set. He then let out a low chuckle, it was somewhat dark but still showed his excitement. Even Ammy didn't understand, in the short time she knew him, she came to find that he wasn't always smiling but that was apparently normal. Still, she loved her father and seeing him smile was a great sight. However, this smile seemed to be...different. It was dangerous, though at the same time, it was exciting. For Aurora, the only other time she saw Ryker like that was back when she first Balto. But, even back then the smile wasn't as unsettling as the one Ryker currently had.

 _Daddy? Are you okay?_ Ammy asked, only to receive the same smile from Ryker.

"Yes, Ammy. In fact, I'm thrilled. Really, I'm fine..." Ryker then looked down at his hands after he put his phone away. He began to flex his hands, his nails dangerously growing into claws but Aurora quickly covered them before the others could see. Ammy caught a glimpse of them but didn't think anything of it.

"So...why are you thrilled?" Aurora asked, trying to ignore the feeling of his growing claws against her palms.

"Hey, control yourself, mate." Nyx whispered to Ryker, noticing the rest of the group's curious expression. Ryker suddenly got up from his seat, giving Aurora another one of those smiles.

"Do you think we have room for one more?" Ryker asked, his voice had a certain tone to it but Aurora couldn't figure it out.

"Um," she started, looking at the rest of them as she tried to get a bearing on the situation, "Sure, I guess. Why do you ask?" She then got up as Ryker suddenly went to the door and turned the handle, only to get stopped by Aurora. "Hey! Where are you off to now?!" she asked, slowly getting angry.

Ryker held up his hands in defense but still had the same smile. "No, no. Don't worry. I know I have been leaving a lot these past few days but I promise you, this will be the last time. I'll be back right away." he assured her. Aurora stated into his eyes for a moment, seeing that he was sincere and apparently, still excited. She then sighed and gave him a small smile as she pointed a finger at him.

"Fine. But, we are going to the festival today and you are coming with." she replied, receiving a nod and a kiss on the cheek for an answer. Ryker then looked at Ammy and gave her a reassuring smile, the sight relaxing them when they noticed that the wolfish smile had disappeared.

"Behave for them, alright?" he asked. Ammy immediately nodded and yipped, she was still ecstatic that he called her by her nickname earlier. Usually, he would call her by her full name but it was rare for the past few days. He never called her "Ammy" and for some reason, it struck a chord of joy within her.

Ryker nodded and gave a small wave, leaving and closing the door behind him. The others shook their heads, smiling at yet, another one of Ryker's disappearing acts.

"You know," Lawrence said as he finally put down his book. He then gave a calculating look and rubbed his chin with thought. "Even when he stopped giving that smile..." He looked at them. "that fire never left his eyes."

 **Hall of Origins...**

Ryker was already in Jeanne's chambers, the latter somewhat amused at the Fenrir's excitement. She had handed him a purple cube which was bordered with blue at the edges. The was a depression in one of the sides, a keyhole within it. The cube's edges glowed faintly, the light pulsated like a beacon. Ryker noticed that the pulses were becoming very, very, slightly faster in between.

"The quest is done?" Ryker asked, Jeanne nodding in response.

 _Yes,_ she started as she gave a smile of her own, _now, when the cube is on the other side is ready, the portal will open._ She sighed. _If only that dimension actually had mana, opening a portal would be easy._

"Yes," Ryker said with a chuckle. He then looked up with a sigh. "Always taking the Restriction Quests, eh?" Restriction Quests were quests assigned only to those who were willing to risk the chance of not being able to get back home. Usually, the dimensions or worlds have unusual limitations to them. They would have an atmosphere with some to very little mana. Mana was vital for what many would call "magic". In Ryker's case, it was just natural powers they were born with. However, mana would lessen the energy needed for him to use his powers. Fortunately for him, he trained himself to harness his power without the help of mana. Thus, he wasn't dependent on it and if he did use mana, it would spend very little to none energy.

With the dimension they were speaking of, it had no mana at all. Therefore, portals were very difficult to summon over there. Not only that, if someone like Ryker went there, they would be temporarily drained of their power until they return. Needless to say, it would be disastrous if someone without power or magic of any kind to go there without a plan. Hence, the portal cubes were made as a solution. However, it would take several years for the cubes to generate the necessary mana needed to summon a portal. Unfortunately, it would have to be used right away. Else, the mana would be quickly drained from the atmosphere.

 _How long has it been? About a decade or so since his departure? I'd bet he misses being part of what used to be a two-man army in Special Forces._ Jeanne stated.

"Yes, that sounds about right. As for missing being a two-man army? Maybe, maybe not. He saw potential in Balto being part of Special Forces though. After he left and Yoshino quit because of her dislike for needless killing, Balto became my partner in the Kanto Army. Shortly after, Grace and Vargulf were recruited." Ryker replied as he tossed the cube in the air repeatedly and catching it.

 _True. Anyways, it will be a few more minutes before the cubes are ready so find somewhere for it to settle. As of now, I need to take part in a meeting with Lords Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza. The first two are arguing again and Lord Rayquaza requires my assistance. Oh, tell him I said "Hi" and "Thank you" for me, would you? I would tell him myself and catch up but the meeting will be a mess if I don't go._

"Of course. I'll make sure to tell him to drop by as well after. Farewell, Milady." Ryker replied, leaving through a portal as Jeanne opened her own to Mount Pyre.

 **The Suite...**

"That was fast." Sissy commented as Ryker walked through the door.

 _Yay! You're back! Ooh, is that a new toy?!_ Ammy exclaimed as she ran up to Ryker and sat at his feet. Ryker shook his head with a smile at her question and noticed the curious expressions he received from the group. Aurora walked over and inspected the cube, her suspicions confirmed.

"Why do you have one of the cubes? Only Legendaries or Knights on Restriction Quests have them...You're not leaving for one, are you?" she asked, giving a glare.

"No, I'm not." Ryker replied with a chuckle as he motioned for everyone to step back, specifically, away from the living room. "Rather, someone is coming back from one. He's coming here, actually." Ryker walked over to the center of the living room and set the cube on the floor. He produced a key and inserted it into the keyhole. He then took a step back as the light from the cube began to glow brighter and pulsing faster.

"Ooh, who's coming? Another Legendary?" Nyx asked, jumping onto Ryker's shoulder only to lose balance when the cube began to force them back with pressure. Ryker, however, stood unflinching and Ammy had to crawl with struggle up to him to hide behind his legs.

"Just in time... , this one became one about a decade ago before he went on this quest two years later. You see," Ryker turned around and gave them all the same smile he had before, his eyes glinting just as dangerously with suppressed excitement. "There are THREE wolves of the Legendaries. Well, four if you want to count yourself, Aurora." Aurora nodded though craned her head in shock. Nyx looked shocked as well, was there another Fenrir? That can't be.."Well, there are four wolves of the Legendaries. The one who is coming is one of them."

Ryker then took a step back, Matt and his group were complete confused as to what Ryker were talking about. Yes, he understood Aurora being one of the wolves of the Legendaries but, who were the other three? He shrugged, figuring that he's going to figure out one of them anyway soon enough. They all watched as the cube suddenly floated, lifting about a meter above the ground. Then, it broke apart, the four sides floating and spinning as the key dissolved away in the center. Finally, the blue glow died down as the fragments of the cube suddenly broke apart even further. They formed a large square with light blue lines of energy which created a small portal in the center. A few moments went by when nothing happened and Ammy was about to speak up until suddenly, Sissy gestured to the portal.

"Someone's coming out!" she exclaimed, the pressure from the cube still causing her to stagger back. Indeed, someone was coming out of the portal. First, out came a booted foot which heavily settled onto the floor. Then the other as well as the legs. Whoever was coming out had black combat pants with gray bordering the edges, the somewhat torn stitchings were visible on the shins and knees. Next, came the clawed hands which were gloved and the arms, revealing that the figure was wearing a leather jacket with silver plating on the sleeves and shoulders. They saw that the figure was wearing a white tank-top which was stained with what seemed to be old blood. Finally, they saw the figure's entire look.

"Shikarou. It's been a while." Ryker stated in a sudden cold tone, his face emotionless. The wolf Legendary, Shikarou, had a heavy-set body, similar to Ryker's. In fact, he was just as tall and was very muscular. He had black fur, not as black as Ryker's in Aurora's opinion, that were a silver's-gray area the tips. His right ear was cut off about halfway and his left ear had a silver band pierced into it. Along the sides of his muzzle was a white stripe which trailed down to end at his chest and back. What they didn't see was that he had a tattoo of a tribal flame which was on his back and chest, as stated before, as well as on his arms. They saw that he had a jagged scar across his left eye and also a large scar shaped like an " _X_ " on the left side of his chest which showed somewhat through the tank-top. Another peculiar sight is that Shikarou's left eye was blue while his right was gray. He didn't have a visible hair style like most anthromorphs had so his head was normal like that of a wolf in its bestial form.

"Hm? Alpha, is that you? Boy, am I ever surprised to see you be the one at the other end of this portal." Shikarou said with a toothy smirk, his voice was somewhat deep though not as deep as Ryker's. In fact, his voice somewhat reminded Nyx about a rapper who sang a song called "Blessings", a popular song in America. Nyx thought that Shikarou's voice was similar, just deeper and there wasn't a slight throatiness to it like rapper had.

Shikarou raised a hand as Ryker did the same, the two ended up shaking hands with Ryker now sporting a smirk of his own. For a brief moment, the group saw the two's arms bulge as muscle started to show through their sleeves. When the two separated, Shikarou looked around and took in his surroundings. At that moment, the portal disappeared as well as the cube and the rest of the group began to recover. Aurora made her way to Ryker and held one of his arms, flashing him a questioning look. Ammy also got up and pawed at Ryker, the latter picked her up with a smile and cradled her with an arm. "Let's see, I need to visit Jeanny later to report and then take care of this blasted headache I'm having since the portal ride here was dizzying." Shikarou then noticed Aurora and Ammy. "My, you've gotten yourself a mate and daughter! I'd thought you'd stick with human ladies...Many of them are actually striking."

Ryker chuckled and shook his head, mentally telling Aurora and Nyx did not know of his true identity. "Well, things led to another and I met Aurora, here. As for little Amaterasu, I just found her a few days ago." _Her parents were killed._ Ryker told Shikarou who nodded at the new information. The newcomer then noticed Ryker's hair and family brands.

"Since when did you have black hair? And when did you get those tattoos?"

"Since I released my suppression of my power several years ago." _You're probably going to figure this out later, but I'm a Fenrir. Besides me, there is another out there and he's my brother. Please, do not make a scene about it right now. Aurora and Nyx, the latter is the Umbreon picking his teeth, are the only ones who know. And now, you. Amaterasu knows as well but it's more instinct than conscious knowledge._

Shikarou stared at Ryker with shock for a moment before shaking his head and letting out a few chuckles. He then gave the rest of them a look and waved a hand. "Shikarou, pleased to meet you all. I don't want to impose or anything but, is there a shower nearby? And do I smell noodles?"

 **Later...**

The group was eating in the living room, Ryker sat by himself at the table near the kitchen while the rest of them took seats on the couches. Aurora was seated next to Sissy and watched with amusement as she watched Matt, Nyx, and even Shikarou practically inhale their food. Within mere minutes, the three were finished and they asked if the could have a second helping. Aurora laughed, waving one of her heads at their question. "Go right ahead. I made enough for everyone to have at least two bowlfuls. Make sure you don't spill any when you refill." she replied with a smile. She then sighed as she set her bowl on the table, looking down and gently scratching Ammy's ears. The pup yipped in response and craned her head to allow Aurora more reach.

Nyx was in his anthro form and offered to refill the other two's bowls. Matt and Shikarou gratefully handed him the bowls and the Umbreon walked to the kitchen with a smile.

"So," Matt started as Shikarou turned his head to face him, "there were giant humans attacking the city you were in?"

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call them humans. In fact, they ate whatever normal humans they could find. The ones I was staying with in Wall Rose, the outer wall of defense of the city, called the giants "Titans." They developed a strange mechanism that allowed them to make use of their environment and soar through the air with gas-propelled grapple hooks. Each soldier also had six blades that can be replaced in place of broken ones on their swords." Shikarou responded. He then nodded his thanks to Nyx as he received his bowl. "Delicious, by the way." he commented to Aurora who smiled her thanks.

"So the humans were at war with the Titans and the only way they could wound them was to use the mechanism you speak of and slash away with the swords?" Ryker asked from back at the kitchen table, taking a sip from his cup of water.

"Exactly. The only weak spot the Titans had were on the back of their necks. A strong swipe with a sword and removal of the nape of the neck kills them. Any other injury to their bodies regenerate hella fast."

"Did the war end?" Rachel asked, cursing silently as she accidentally spilled a bit of the broth on her hand.

"Not exactly. But when I left, I remember them talking about how they found a soldier who could turn himself into a Titan by will. He ended up helping them and they later found that the major Titans, these abnormal Titans that caused a lot more trouble, were humans with the ability to transform as well. The thing was, the ones that were major Titans were aiding the normal Titans attack the humans the entire time...I think you can imagine how much trouble that caused. Anyways, I left before anything else happened."

"Didn't you want to stay and help out?" Sissy asked. Shikarou turned to her, his face serious and his eyes cold.

"No, I was only sent there in the first place to retrieve a forbidden artifact. Whatever happened to the humans there happens. I don't care for them, neither is whatever happening there is not my business. I'm just doing what I have to do and only protecting those I care about." Aurora saw this and shivered, looking over to Ryker who was casually cleaning his bowl.

"You're just like Ryker then." Aurora said with a sigh, already used to the bluntness and coldness of words.

"Who? Oh, right. Yeah, I guess you could say that. Then again, I'm not as..."brutal" as Alpha, for lack of a better word. I'm not as cold either." Shikarou replied with a smirk at Ryker who shrugged at them. "He's the one who taught me that I save whoever I want and kill whoever I want to kill."

Matt nearly shot up from his seat, his fists were clenched into tight balls and his knuckles became somewhat visible through his skin. "How can you say that? Why can't you two just save as many people as you can and only kill for the greater good? Yeah, for the greater good!" he seethed, the others staying silent at his outburst. Then, they watched as Ryker came over to them and gave Matt an unreadable expression.

"Let me ask you this, Matt. Would you rather kill Sissy in order to say fifty people or would you kill fifty people to save Sissy?" he asked, causing everyone save for Shikarou and Aurora, the latter thinking to herself, to blanch.

"W-W-What kind of question is that?" Matt shot back, glancing at Sissy who held his hand.

"Answer me, Matt." Ryker replied, unrelenting. Matt remained silent, his fists clenching then relaxing in routine. Ryker took a step back, taking a seat next to Aurora and leaning back. "Exactly. You would want to save Sissy over the fifty people. Where is your "greater good" there?"

"You act like you wouldn't do the same. Sissy, don't take this seriously, what I'm about to say next, but yes, I would save the people for the greater good." Matt finally answered with a low tone, Sissy rubbing his arm soothing in understanding as she would do the same. They looked to see Ryker wave off his reply, obviously unimpressed.

"By the way, of those fifty people, at least half are murderers, several are rapists, and a few are greedy rich folk who don't care for those of the lower classes." Ryker replied coldly. Matt paled once more, throwing up his hands in frustration.

"That's not fair! I didn't know! Then I would chose Sis-!"

"Exactly, you didn't know. You don't know. You along with many others don't see the flaw in the "greater good". You don't know the people you are saving. Hell, the fifty people earlier you'd rather save could all be criminals of the worst degrees and if you chose them over Sissy, you made it worse for the world." Ryker interrupted, his logic hitting everyone like a ton of bricks. Shikarou grimly nodded, he already understood since he used to think like Matt did back when he first recruited into the Kanto Army. It wasn't until he asked that very same question to Ryker who replied with a completely different answer.

Ryker continued. "If it were me, I would save Aurora and kill those who endangers the rest of us. People call it "killing" or "murder" and that's another thing. There's many who don't know there's actually a difference between the two. When I kill, I aim for the goal that positively benefits everyone around. Now that you know that, you now know where either word falls. Anyways, that's why with that question, should anyone ask you, always reply that you save who you want and kill who you need to kill. Now, tell me if there's still such thing as the "greater good.""

"I understand completely now." Aurora replied before Matt could say anything. "It wouldn't make sense to waste a life to save many others if the latter were all scum of the earth. In any case, you would win if you thought like Ryker and Shikarou since you can save the one you care for and those who are good to the society of the other group. At the same time, you could get rid of those who negatively impact it...At least, that way, one wouldn't have to face the difficulties of taking lives such...as cold as it is." She looked at Ryker who remained expressionless, she suddenly felt his arm wrap around her and gave a small smile. Ryker acknowledged her smile with a glance and with his other hand, gave gentle strokes to Ammy's back.

"I'm...I'm sorry for what I said." Matt suddenly announced.

"Dont worry about it, Matt. It's just something I want you all to think about when faced in that situation. In fact, don't even worry about it at all. If any of you end up in that situation, you would have to have terrible luck. Putting that aside, just don't think too much about it and end up going around and looking for criminals or the like to kill. Only kill when you need to, in self-defense and to protect those that earned your love and care." Ryker replied, Shikarou nodding in agreement with a smile as well. Aurora smiled at that too, noticing the tension that was in the air started too disappear quickly. All of a sudden, Nyx jumped and caused them to look at him in questioning.

"Hey, we still haven't gone to the festival yet. Why don't we go now while it's still going on? The bloody tickets might run out if we don't go soon." he suggested.

"Hey, now. What's this about a festival?" Shikarou asked, looking at them for an answer.

"It's a celebration for Viridian's founding day. Its birthday, if you will." Lawrence answered as they all got up.

"Well then, mind if I come with you all?" They all gave him a warm smile and nodded their answer, earning a smile from him. "Uh, I'm going to run to the closest store for clothes. Be back in a bit!" Shikarou added before rushing out the door. When he left, everyone left to their respective rooms.

Aurora was sifting through her clothes, wondering what to wear to the festival. According to Sissy, the people usually wore nice dress clothing or kimonos. Aurora frowned, she wore all of her dresses multiple times and wanted to wear something different this time. She turned to Ryker who was in a conversation with Ammy.

"Really? You want me to teach you?" he asked the pup.

 _Yes! I want to be like Mommy!_ Ammy replied as she gave Aurora beaming smile, also giving a few yips. Ryker gave a smile to Aurora who began to tear up, both of them having heard Ammy call Aurora "Mommy" for the first time. Instantly, Aurora hugged the pup gently and began to cry more. Ryker chuckled and watched the exchange, giving a smile of amusement as Aurora regained her composure.

"I'm really happy you finally accepted me as your mother, Ammy. You have no idea how happy I feel...Now, what are you two talking about?" Aurora said as she wiped the still fling tears from her eyes. Ryker gave Ammy a look and the pup nodded vigorously. Ryker then sighed with a chuckle as he suddenly rested one of his hands onto Ammy's forehead. Suddenly, Ammy and Aurora gasped as the former began to glow with a bright white light. The glow lasted for a few seconds, Ammy's figure within shifting a bit, before dying down completely. Now, there stood a little human girl with white hair that flowed down to her ankles. There was the same red symbols in the same spots on her body and in contrast, her eyelashes were somewhat long being white as well. In total, she stood as tall as Ryker to his waist. Ammy looked at herself, noting that she didn't have any fur or a muzzle. In fact, she didn't have any canine features present. Suddenly, her knees buckled and she fell forward only to be caught by Ryker.

"Don't worry, I'll teach you how to walk on two legs." Ryker assured her.

"I thought I was going to be like Mommy." Ammy stated, nearly jumping at the sound of her voice as she noticed she was talking with her mouth. She then noted her small fangs, one of which stuck out from the right corner of her mouth.

"Don't worry, little one, I have to have you in this form first before making the necessary adjustments...There." Ammy glowed again, growing about an inch taller, and when the light died down to reveal Ammy in her anthro form. Everything was the same as before except for the fact that she was now a bipedal Seeker wolf and she had hair in the same way and style as she had in her human form. Ammy took a look at herself again, smiling at the sight of her body and then looking at her hands. By instinct, she extended her laws and immediately retracted them with a small jump of surprise. She then gave Ryker a grateful smile, hugging him whilst nuzzling his side.

"Now we just need to get you some clothes." Aurora commented as Ammy separated from her father. Ammy finally noticed that she didn't have any clothes, something she apparently needed in her current form. She then looked at Aurora as the Akirari handed her an outfit, the bundle consisting of a crimson dress with separate white sleeves. There was also a pair of white candles, the straps gleamed with a nice shine in the light as she turned it. Lastly, there a satin bow for her to wear. Ammy immediately brightened at the sight and grabbed her clothes, completely surprising the two since she had walked to grab them. Ryker figured that she must've forgotten about not being able to walk and her growing instincts fixed that problem.

Ammy tried, with some difficulty, on her clothes. They fit her perfectly and she turned her body about to see. Her bow was arranged in perfect style on her head although being slightly crooked. However, it only added to her cuteness. Ammy then hugged Aurora and gave a few involuntary yips. "Thank you, Mommy! I love it!" Aurora hugged her back and looked at Ryker with a small smile.

"Apparently, I can find her clothes but I can't find my own."

"What do you mean?" Ryker asked as Ammy sat on the bed, testing her body movements.

"I can't pick. I want to try something different and I don't know what but even if I did, I don't want to run to the store and take a long time to browse." Aurora replied with a small frown, thinking to herself. She then felt a hand on her shoulder, finding Ryker in front of her with a smile.

"Just give me an image of what you want to wear and I'll make it happen. Don't worry about the materials, I have most of them." he told her. Aurora excitedly nodded and closed her eyes, trying to picture what she wanted to wear. She then held Ryker's head and the two touched noses. When they separated, Ryker smiled and raised a hand at her, her current outfit glowing before disappearing.

Her figure was hidden in the glow, which was still there, and then it died down to reveal Aurora in a beautiful kimono. The idea was given to her by Sissy who had decided to just go in her usual outfit. Ammy's eyes widened with excitement as she saw that Aurora's kimono was a deep sapphire blue. It was trimmed with silver and the front had the images of snow dotted with icy snowflakes. On the back, there was an image of a silver moon above curling waves. Like Ammy, Aurora had sandals though they were white. Her toenails were polished blue and her fingernails polished the same. She had her silver earrings on, the one Ryker had bought for her back in Alagaësia, and her necklace hung in sight. Her ears canted as she looked at herself and her wings were curled in at her sides. She looked unsure but Ryker would tell from the slow wagging of her tail that she was getting excited.

"Good?" Aurora asked, unsure of herself. Ryker hugged her with an arm, shaking his head and earning a pout from her.

"Perfect." he replied, Aurora's pout instantly gone and replaced with a smile. Suddenly, Aurora gave Ammy a look before having an idea. She snapped her fingers, producing a blue ribbon of her own. She then tied it in a small bow around her hair which continued to pulse blue every now and then. The ends of the bow draped down her back along her hair, stopping a few feet short of the ends of her hair which still hung to her thighs. Her hair was tied in a fashion to the point where she had a few bangs on either side of her face.

"There. No more changes." Aurora said with a giggle as she wondered what Ryker was going to wear. To her slight disappointment, though she kept it hidden from him, he did nothing to change himself. He did, however, took off his jacket and placed it in a folded bundle on the bed but that was hardly a change. Aurora shook her head. Either way, it didn't matter. She loved him and thought he looked incredibly handsome.

"Ready to go?" he asked when all of a sudden, a loud shout of surprise filled their ears. Ryker and Aurora ran out of their room only to stop and watch with amusement when they found Nyx staring in shock. Nyx had a black hooded sweater on complete with blue jeans and a belt. They watched as Nyx pointed at the living room area, his ears erected in his state of shock and the blue rings in his long hair flashing brightly like an alarm.

"W-W-Who is she and what is she doing here?" he asked, trying to make sense of the situation. Ryker and Aurora laughed, as the one on the couch was none other than Ammy. She ignored Nyx as she watched her show, she had left earlier when Ryker and Aurora were discussing the Akirari's kimono.

"She would be Amaterasu, Nyx." Ryker replied as Aurora tried, though horribly failed, to stifle her laughter. Nyx looked at the two with disbelief before returning his attention to Ammy. He then took a deep breath and exhaled before putting on a straight face.

"And that is how you act in that particular scene. You had better been taking notes, mates, I'm not doing that again." Nyx said, trying to play off his earlier shock. This time, Aurora didn't hold back her laughter and as she calmed down, she leaned her head on Ryker's shoulder. Nyx then registered her new look and nodded, rubbing his chin. "Yeah, yeah... Lovin' the new look, dearie. Reminds me of the time we had prom night at the University. Man, I remember my date for the night...she was chosen for Prom Queen and ended up going out with the Prom King...He wasn't me..."

Ryker looked at Aurora with curious expression. "You went to prom before? What's it like?" Aurora looked at him, somewhat unsure of what to tell him.

"Well, I thought it was okay. I went by myself and chatted with Nyx after his partner left him. I don't know, people say the best experiences at prom requires having a date." She shrugged. "I didn't bring one."

"Wait," Nyx said as Rachel and Lawrence appeared through the door, Lawrence in his usual white suit and Rachel in a simple purple dress. "You never went to prom before?"

"No, I kept to myself most of the time and never really did anything social with the school community...or anyone for that matter." Ryker replied as another look of disbelief crossed Nyx's face.

"So you were a loner?" Rachel asked, a small spark of interest in her eyes. Lawrence was about to say something about her rude and insensitive question but Ryker already cut him off.

"Indeed. I never even made a friend there. As you can imagine, it was easier for me to just stay home and go off doing something on my own." Ryker then noticed the expression of pity on Rachel's face, adding to the expression of sadness given by Aurora. "It was of my own choosing though. Besides, back in school, my priority was graduating with top grades and making friends wasn't important at the time."

At that moment, Shikarou appeared through the door with a new set of clothes. They were similar to his old ones and the only difference was what he wore on his upper body which was a muscle shirt. His pants were clean and on his arm, a bundle of new clothes hung on his arm. "Glad to see you all didn't leave yet." He then noticed Ammy only barely recognized her through her scent. "Who taught her how to do that?" Ryker raised a hand and Shikarou nodded before setting his clothes down on a chair. He then looked around and scratched one of his ears. "Where's Matt and Sissy?"

"Over here. Just got done." Matt replied as he and Sissy walked out of their room. To the rest of the group's amusement, the two didn't change their clothes at all.

"Just got done doing what? Looking up furries on your laptop while Sissy watched you the entire time?" Rachel replied with an evil grin. Matt flustered and Sissy blushed, her tail actually wagging somewhat at the topic. Ryker frowned and gave an arch look to Rachel.

"No, we-nevermind. I won't even bother."

"What are "furries"?" Ryker suddenly asked, earning a happy sigh from Rachel as if she was relieved he asked her the question.

"Wait, no-!" Matt started but was too late.

"Furries are what we would call you, you, you, her, and her, back home." Rachel explained as she pointed to Aurora, Shikarou, Nyx, Sissy, and Ammy. "Back in our dimension, furries don't exist except in kid shows, Comic-Cons and even pornos. There's also some people who make fursuits, basically costumes of whatever animal they choose to put in anthromorphic form." She raised a finger as most of them gave a blush save for Ryker and Shikarou as well as Ammy but she wasn't even paying attention to them. "In Matt's case, furries are his main fetish. His laptop back home, which is probably gone since we haven't been back for a long time, is or was loaded with files and files of furry pornography pics and vids."

"Actually," Sissy cutter in as Matt groaned, "when Rachel first came here, Matt and I barely knew each other. He and I were having a conversation with Emie and next thing we knew, Rachel appeared in a flash of light...ask our friend, Otto, if you want the details on how. Her first words to us were, "What the fuck?! Furries?!" Then, Matt tried to explain what happened so far only for Rachel to ramble off on how Matt was into furries. If I remember correctly, his favorites were canines..." Sissy looked at Matt who buried his face in his hands in denial. Rachel was doubled over, laughing, and Nyx was shaking in head in amusement. "That's when I first thought I had a chance with Matt since I had thought he didn't like me. But then, before I thought much further, he started to bang his head on the wall for a bit..." Matt was already in front of a wall and they watched as he began to hit his head against it repeatedly, slightly harder every time while muttering under his breath. "Like that. Then, Rachel took me out to shopping while telling me what his favorite canine parts were like the ears or muzzles."

Aurora blushed heavier due to the new information and looked at Ryker with a lost expression. Ryker simply shook his head and looked at Nyx who gave a few laughs before going over to Ammy. Shikarou let out a few laughs as well and covered his eyes while Lawrence was reading his book. Sissy then blanched and looked at them in horror.

"I didn't say all that just now, did I? Oh my- Matt! I'm so sorry! My mind just kind of fell into the conversation!" Sissy exclaimed as she rushed over to him and tried to soothe him. Matt simply hung his head in a depressed state and grabbed her wrist, leading her out the door.

"Let's just go to the festival. It lasts until later tonight." he said, it was almost a whisper as he had spoke in a low tone.

"Amaterasu, Nyx, let's go." Ryker announced as they all followed Matt out the door. Ammy instantly snapped to attention and ran over to Ryker, holding his arm opposite to the arm Aurora was leaning on. Nyx quickly grabbed the remote and turned off the TV, something Ammy forgot to do, and held up the rear when the left the Pokémon Center.

The festival was held in the center of Viridian City on a large, flat rise where many games, food booths, attractions and such were set up. People were already crowding the area though not so much to the point where the group couldn't do anything.

"How about we split up?" Matt asked them as they reached the entrance, trying to secretly take off heat from his embarrassing moment earlier. "Anyone?"

"That sounds like a good idea." Lawrence said as he smoothed out his pants.

"I'll stick with Lawrence." Rachel said as she took Lawrence's arm and ran off with him, Lawrence struggling to light his cigarette.

"I'll go with Nyx." Shikarou announced next, he and the UMbreon had already planned what to do on their way to the festival.

"Well, I'm going with Sissy so I guess that means you three are a group." Matt said as the remaining three nodded their heads. Ammy, however, nodded a lot more vigorously than her parents. She couldn't imagine having fun in the festival without them. That was when it hit Matt. "Who's she?" he asked, earning an answer from Sissy who thought it was kind of obvious.

They split up and went off to do their own thing. Matt led Sissy to down a path where people could be seen dunking their heads into buckets of water. The game was simple, dunk into the water, collect as many apples as you can, and earn a prize. "That's sort of unsanitary." Sissy remarked as they passed by.

"Meh. People don't really think about these things." Matt replied as he wrapped an arm around her waist. He nearly accidentally undid her sash which kept her kimono together but Sissy adjusted it in time, not really worried since if such a thing happened, she could always get in her bestial form.

"So," Sissy said as devious smile grew on her face, "what were your favorite parts again?" Matt nearly tripped and gave Sissy a glare, the latter only laughing in response. When she calmed down, she suddenly frowned and looked Matt in the eye. "Say, if I wasn't a "furry", would you have fallen in love with me back then?" Matt gave her an angry look, it caused her ears to flatten and her tail to droop in slight fear. Matt suddenly kissed her on her forehead, surprising her as he massaged her shoulder with his free hand.

"Yes, I still would have fallen in love with you, Sissy. Sissy, I love you. Don't ever ask me that question again. As for you being a furry, it only adds to your uniqueness. In my opinion, that's way more attractive than normal woman but that's not the point...It's also a bonus to me." he replied. Sissy giggled at his growing blush and nuzzled his neck, kissing him back before he finally managed a smile. The two walked further down the path, browsing many items that they found were cheap and passing by friendly people. They spotted a couple, a man and his Houndoom, eating ice cream and the latter accidentally spilled it onto her dress only for her lover to clean it up playfully with his tongue. About forty or so minutes later, after getting snacks and getting in a few rides, Matt's eyes widened in excitement.

"Hey, there's something we can try." Matt said as he pointed to a booth where people were getting dropped into a pool of water whenever a person hits the target with a ball. Matt turned to see Sissy's uneasy expression and laughed a bit. "Don't worry, I'll be the one sitting on that board."

"You would play that?" Sissy asked. "What if I end up hitting the target?"

"I'm confident." Matt replied with a teasing grin. Sissy, irked, immediately pulled him over to the dunking booth and the two paid the fee before Matt made his way to his seat above the water. Below him, the pool of water showed his reflection and Matt calculated that it was approximately four feet deep.

Sissy walked over to where a line of tape was stuck to the ground and looked at the dunking tank. She estimated that she was about four or five meters away and closed one eye as she focused on the target connected to the tank.

"Aim, batter, batter, batter." Matt jeered, watching with a smug and confident grin as Sissy reared back her arm and threw the ball. They watched, as well as a small group of people, as the ball soared through the air at a high velocity. It came closer and closer, the suspense rising. Eventually, time came to a slow when the ball connected and hit the target directly in the center.

 **Twenty minutes later withdrew Rachel and Lawrence...**

"Lawrence, you do know that you're not suppose to smoke here, right?" Rachel asked as Lawrence exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"Really? My apologies to them then." Lawrence said as he dug the cigarette into his palm, putting it out and leaving a small burn mark. It soon disappeared and the couple continued to walk until Rachel found something she was highly interested in.

"There! Let's try it!" she exclaimed as she led him to a booth that had a shooting game with moving targets. The counter had several rifles that had cords connecting from their stocks to within the counter.

"Are you sure, Mistress? I hardly know how to shoot a gun." Lawrence asked as they neared it. He hated guns. He was an warrior of honor! To use guns would be unsettling for him.

"Yes, I'm sure, you big baby. Now actually move your feet or you won't get any of my ass tonight." Rachel said with a slight seductive tone.

"Mistress," Lawrence said as he looked around, "you shouldn't use words like that being a woman as graceful as yourself. And if I may, children might hear you." He couldn't help but let his mind wander to what may happen later that night, growing excited yet hoping his "excitement" wouldn't show. Rachel ignored him and they reached the shooting booth. Rachel paid five yen, after yelling at the attendant who had said it costed fifteen, and chose a rifle on the left side of the counter. Lawrence chose a rifle on the right side and was curious as to whether or not they were going to use live rounds. He found that there were rubber bullets in the magazine and berated himself for even thinking that they would allow actual bullets at the festival.

"Ready? Go!" the attendant shouted as he pulled a level. The targets began to move in random patterns and Rachel began firing off her weapon. Lawrence started soon after, managing to hit a couple of targets while Rachel only hit one so far.

 _Damn it._ Rachel thought as she missed a shot and found another target to aim at. Her finger squeezed the trigger and she silently celebrated when the bullet cracked against the target. She then aimed to her right, firing at another target and hitting it as well. She quickly checked her score, finding that she had six bullets left with three points. Lawrence had five bullets left with five points. That meant he hit every one of his targets so far. Rachel grinded her teeth and began to fire more quickly at the targets.

Eventually they were tied 8-8 and were both down to their last bullet. Lawrence looked at Rachel for a moment before aiming and firing his rifle. Fortunately for her, he missed the target by a mere inch or two. Lawrence shrugged and looked at Rachel with a smile, waiting for her to decide the outcome of the game. Rachel returned her attention to the targets and took a deep breath, holding it before pulling the trigger. What happened next was completely unexpected for the two. The bullet missed a target but ended up hitting a hanging bar which held most of the prizes. The bullet then ricocheted off the bar and whizzed past them. They suddenly heard the bullet burst through someone's glass of water, earning shocked exclaims from the surrounding people. Finally, a loud scream of pain sounded in the air followed by "Oh, come on!"

The attendant leaned forward on the counter and squinted, trying to get an idea of where the bullet may have ended up. He then gave up afterwards and looked to find Rachel and Lawrence already gone, extra money was left on the counter and a plush toy went missing from the bar.

 **With Nyx and Shikarou...**

"Did you hear that?" Nyx asked as they turned around to see what was happening when people suddenly started to cry out in shock.

"I did. I heard a faint impact and then whoever screamed yelled. Sounded painful." Shikarou replied as he scanned the area before him. At a booth ahead of them, a Blastoise stared wide-eyed at what used to be his glass cup. Now, it was just a pile of shards and he had a cut on the cheek from one that flew when the cup broke.

"Oh well. Not like there's anything we can do for the bloke." Nyx said as they turned around and walked further down the aisle. They eventually reached a booth that was serving free food. The two stared at each other then glanced at the food before they quickly chowed down.

"Hey! * _munch munch_ * Thithh foov tath great!" Nyx remarked as the two demolished a plate of fried rice.

"I know! * _slurp munch munch*_ Da thoodies aren't badth either." Shikarou replied whilst grabbing another cup of smoothie. They continued to e st before they felt full again and the two staggered out of the food booth only to spot a ride of some sort. It looked like a satellite, having a platform atop a large column. The platform was surrounded by a wall with seatbelts and handle bars and there was green and yellow lights all over the ride.

"Hey, let's get on that ride! Hurry, before the spots run out!" Nyx exclaimed as the two rushed over to the attraction. Fortunately, the two were able to make it but many spots were already taken. Nyx had to secure himself to a spot the was directly across from Shikarou. In all, there was about thirty or so people in the ride and they all stood in a large circle on the platform. Nyx wondered why they were recommended to hold the handle bars but by the time he and Shikarou reached the dreaded conclusion, it was already too late for them.

A hiss sounded from underneath them and the platform started to rotate slowly. The platform rose a bit higher into the air and the two noticed with horror that it started to tilt at random angles. _Oh shit. I think we just screwed ourselves._ Shikarou told Nyx who was slowly shaking his head in horror.

 _Please. Don't let it be that one bloody ride where-_ he thought but trailed off when the platform began to spin at a very dizzying speed.

 _Fucking cunt._

 _Son of a motherfucking bitch._

The two had cursed in unison before the people in the ride around them started to cheer and exclaim in excitement as the platform spun faster and faster. Eventually, everything for Nyx and Shikarou became a multicolred blur.

 **With Ryker, Aurora, and Ammy...**

"Look, they actually fit a ferris wheel here!" Aurora exclaimed as she pointed at the large spinning attraction.

"Ooh! What is this?" Ammy wondered as she inspected a vacant photo booth. Immediately, Aurora looked at Ryker with a smile who only smiled back when they reached the pup.

"It's a photo booth, little one. It takes pictures of you when you go inside and look at the camera." Ryker explained for Ammy as he gestured her to look inside. There was a single large bench inside and in front of it, was a large screen with a camera underneath. Below the camera, a small screen with options displayed flashed as it showed them to pay a few yen for it to work.

"Here, Ammy, sit on my lap and look at the center of that camera there." Aurora said as she sat down and pointed at the camera. Ammy nodded excitedly and sat on her mother's lap as Ryker inserted a few coins into the machine. He then took a spot next to Aurora and looked at the camera. "See the screen? That's how the picture is going to look like when the timer runs out. When it starts, give your best smile and look directly into the camera." Aurora finished as Ammy nodded in understanding. Ryker pressed a few options and suddenly, a fifteen-second timer came up on screen.

"Smile everyone!" was suddenly announced, amusing Ryker and Aurora as Ammy was the one who said it. Inexplicably, all three knew what to do and got into their positions without even thinking about it. The timer counted down until eventually, it ran out and a _click_ sounded in the booth. Aurora gestured for Ammy to sit down as Ryker of up and placed his hand underneath a small slit in the machine. Suddenly, a strip of photos came out to reveal that their picture was taken five times. They looked to see that fortunately, no one blinked and everyone smiled perfectly into the camera. Aurora pointed out that Ryker's fangs were showing and in response, he pointed out that one of Ammy's fangs were showing as well. The picture of them revealed that Aurora was kissing Ammy's cheek whilst looking at the camera and Ryker was leaning his head onto Ammy's, a warm smile and a happy spark in his eyes. They instantly knew that the pictures were a keeper and Ryker inserted a few more coins into the machine.

"Alright, Ammy. This one, do whatever you want. Just make sure you stay within the camera's view." Ryker explained as he took his seat and put away the photos. Ammy nodded and waited for the timer to come up again and like last time, a fifteen-second timer appeared on the screen. Aurora smiled and gently pinched Ammy's face while the latter playfully pretended to gnaw on Aurora's finger. Ryker simply frowned and looked at the two as if he didn't approve of their antics. Then, the pictures was taken and when they looked to see, they began to laugh with silly smiles.

"Sun's almost down." Ryker said as they stepped out of the booth. He suddenly heard a few screams coming from an attraction behind him and figured it was because, well, it was an attraction. He then shook his head, he reminded himself to consider all possibilities and the assumption he had just made could have been wrong. Who knows? It might have been screams of fear or pain. However, he knew they weren't because for one, it was a group of people that screamed and it strangely included a few disgusted sounding noises. Two, he didn't smell blood and he didn't hear anyone rushing to call for emergency or the like.

He suddenly felt a tug on his arm and looked to see Ammy pointing excitedly at the ferris wheel. "Can we go in that? It's so pretty!" she asked, a few people walked by and commented on how adorable she was and how beautiful Aurora looked. Ryker nodded his response to her with a smile, considering that they already went on several lines which surprisingly, didn't have long lines. That also had a few snacks, mostly chocolate on Aurora's part and cotton candy along with corn on the cob for Ammy, played a few booth games and won some prizes, and watched a couple of entertainment shows. The prizes they won included a large pokéball pillow, a medium-sized plush of a black wolf with white eyes, a colorful hula hoop that caught Ammy's eye, and a phone Ryker won for Aurora.

With the smartphone, Aurora had told Ryker that if he was ever gone, she would call him for every day he wasn't there and text him for every few hours. On a more serious note, Aurora had also told him that she most likely would only use it for emergencies and calling for family. Ryker planned for Ammy to have one in the future for the same reasons and decided to wait for when she became an adult. As for the wolf plush, Aurora won it for herself in a throwing darts championship. In the end, she was very determined to win and had a perfect score, 500 points with all darts on the bullseye and Ammy cheering all the while, and instantly chose the wolf plush without hesitation. The funny thing was that it reminded Aurora so much about Ryker. It had a serious expression and matched both his fur and eye color. It didn't have his family brands but Aurora had figured that she would stitch those in later on her free time. It also lacked his horns, spikes, his four protruding fangs, back and chest blades, his tail flame, and wings so again, Aurora had figured that she would go and get the materials she needed online and sew them into the plush. She had promised him with a smile that it will always be present on their beds, whether it be in the suites or in caves.

Ryker had thought that she was joking, only to find out that she was half-joking.

Ammy had participated in a throwing rings game. She had to throw four rings onto the lips of empty glass bottles placed a few feet apart from each other. She managed to get two of the rings onto the bottle and earned herself the hula hoop. She previously didn't know what it was until Ryker explained what she could do with it. The explanation excited her and she grew even more excited when Aurora threw in her experiences with a hula hoop.

"The ferris wheel?" Aurora asked as Ammy nodded and grabbed their hands, leading them to the line of people before it. "Have you ever been on one before?" she asked, already knowing the answer from Ammy though curious as to what Ryker had to say. What she did not expect was what he said next.

"This is the first time in my life that I've seen one personally, same goes for the rest of the rides we went on."

"..."

"I know, I didn't really care much about having a great childhood when I grew up so there you have it."

"..."

"Aurora?" She didn't reply and they finally reached the entrance to the ride. Ryker paid the fee for them and they waited for a cart to land in front of them. It resembled a Latios with the next one a Latias. The pattern continued on to the other eight carts, ten carts total on the ferris wheel. They went inside cart and sat down, Ryker with Ammy on his lap and Aurora next to them. They only had to wait for about a few minutes until the ferris wheel started to moving, making full circles and amazing Ammy all the while.

"You can see so much here!" she remarked, she had forgotten about one of the first few days with them when her power flared and revealed to them that she could summon wings of fire.

"How's the view, Ammy?" Aurora asked, giggling herself as she noticed Ryker turning his head to take in the sights with a distant expression.

"There's so many lights, Mommy! The people down there look really tiny!" Ammy replied as she took a look down the side of the cart, the sight would have made any height-fearing person throw up. Ammy then gasped as the ferris wheel suddenly stopped, leaving them at the very top. Both Aurora and Ammy jumped when Ryker wrapped his arms around them, his face still distant and his eyes remained on the city below. They looked at him with wonder until he suddenly smiled, he exhaled and closed his eyes. Ryker stayed like that for a moment and Aurora, as well as Ammy, smiled and settled against him lovingly. The moment was just right for the three.

 **Later on the way to the suite...**

"You're still dripping. What happened to you?" Rachel asked. She then noticed Matt's black eye. "And what happened to your eye?" Matt sighed and glanced at Sissy with his good eye, the latter giggling and returning her attention to Amber who was currently free. The nurse was walking behind them, she decided with their consent to hang out with them for the night.

"I won't tell you much except that Sissy has very good aim and that a rubber ball gave me this shiner." Matt replied, wincing as he felt a sharp wave of pain from his black eye. Rachel nearly jumped when he mentioned the rubber ball and looked over at Lawrence who motioned a finger to his lips, telling her to keep quiet about it. "Where'd you get the Wailmer plush?"

"Uh..the-eee, um, it was a prize at a dunking tank." she nervously lied, Lawrence smiling and shaking his head at her. At her answer, Matt inwardly flinched and decided to stop asking questions. He looked ahead of him, seeing Shikarou and Nyx weakly walking holding there stomachs.

"I can't believe you two got kicked out of the festival." Candice remarked when she got their attention. "What happened for that to even happen?"

"We lost our food. It happened on a ride and, uh, a few people got caught in the crossfire." Shikarou replied, remembering vividly how his and Nyx's vomiting nailed a few people. Ryker caught the stray memory and turned around, giving the two a shake of the head before continuing to walk. Nyx and Shikarou gave confused looks but didn't question what had just happened, deciding to let it go. In Ryker's arms, Aurora was resting with a smile on her face. She had fallen asleep on the ferris wheel ride which lasted for a while since there was no one else getting on and Ryker decided to just carry her back. In _Aurora's_ arms, Ammy lay there in her bestial form, she had transformed due to exhaustion and fell asleep as well. The group marveled at the sight and wondered just how Ryker did it. Amber, having only recently joined them, shrugged and thought it was just a fluke.

The reached the suite and the entire group, save for Ryker and the sleeping two, decided to stay up for the night. Ryker brought Aurora and Ammy into their room and gently laid Ammy down onto his pillow. He then carefully removed Aurora's kimono, revealing that she was only wearing a bra and panties underneath, and replaced it with one of her sleeping clothes while successfully avoided waking her up. That was when he wondered how he accomplished such things himself, but he dismissed the thought before he could end up overthinking it and laid her down as well in a comfortable position under the covers. Ryker then changed his own clothes, leaving himself in only a simple shirt and shorts, and was about to settle down for bed until he detected a presence behind his door. He walked up to it and opened it to reveal Shikarou with a smirk.

"Sparring tomorrow morning?" he asked. Ryker smirked dangerously as well and nodded, his eyes glinting like it had before when he first read Jeanne's message.

"I thought you would never ask." Ryker replied, the two crossed their fists before Shikarou returned to the living room to watch a movie with Matt's group. Ryker chuckled to himself with slight eagerness and closed the door, getting into bed after lifting Ammy and setting her onto his chest where she curled up and rested her chin on his collarbone. She let out a cute yawn as well as a yip in her sleep before becoming silent once more.

 **The clearing about a mile away from the suite...**

"So that's where they went." Aurora remarked as she neared the rest of the group, all of them watching Ryker and Shikarou go at it. In Aurora's arms was a tired Ammy but the pup widened her eyes at the sudden increase of powerful aura pressure. Aurora felt it too, she looked at disbelief at Shikarou's aura. It was as great and as powerful as her own! That would make him stronger than Vulcan as well, not to mention the two Arceus. The entire group watched with awe as Ryker and Shikarou engaged in a grapple.

Ryker was shirtless, as was Shikarou, and the two were only wearing their pants. They were both tired but neither of them wanted to give in to the other. Ryker suddenly shoved Shikarou into the ground, his hand planted behind the latter's head. Ryker then let go only to quickly step back when Shikarou kicked in a sweeping motion with both feet, his hands keeping him suspended from the ground, before getting to his feet. The two were still for a moment and that was when Ammy and Aurora noticed that Ryker had several cuts and bruises on his body. The same could be said about Shikarou though slightly, very slightly and barely noticeable, more.

Ryker delivered two swift punches to Shikarou's head, Shikarou retaliating in an uppercut. The two were knocked back for a second before engaging once more, each delivering swift and powerful blows that the other didn't bother to defend against.

"When did they start this?" Aurora asked as she looked at the group.

"According to Nyx, about a couple of hours ago. It took a while, but we found them. And from the looks of things, they might kill each other." Lawrence replied, too focused on the spar to even bring out his book. Aurora nodded as she returned her attention to the two, wondering just how the two will end up afterwards.

The scenery changed, pillars rose from the ground in a checkerboard pattern and the two fighters retreated to their respective sides. Aurora then noticed that they both produced weapons, Ryker a pistol and Shikarou the same. She was about to intervene but somehow, she knew that the two wouldn't use live rounds...Would they? Ammy was focused on the fight as well though she noted the guns with a shiver. Putting that aside, she wanted to try and learn how to fight. She knew that when she grew up, she would have to learn how to defend herself anyways in her anthro form. She then smiled and let out a happy yip as Ryker mentally acknowledged her with approval but told her not to worry about fighting for now.

Ryker and Shikarou suddenly moved, both crouching low to reduce the chance of getting shot. Shikarou scanned the pillars around him, looking to his left and right before suddenly turning around and firing. He found that there was nothing there but a pillar but he swore he heard something. Sighing, he continued on. The group watched as Ryker made another circle around Shikarou and threw pebbles, throwing off Shikarou. However, Shikarou soon figured out the trick and decided to rely on his nose to find Ryker. To his dismay, he couldn't smell Ryker at all. The same couldn't be said for Ryker though.

Shikarou suddenly jumped as a leg tried to sweep him out from under. However, he felt two rubber bullets, each made to be just as painful as real bullets, graze his side. He turned in midair to deliver a powerful kick across Ryker's face only for Ryker to duck and deliver a punch to Shikarou's gut. Shikarou doubled over when he landed but quickly recovered. However, his recovery wasn't quick enough since Ryker ended up grabbing the Legendary's head and smashing it into the pillar. Shikarou groaned in pain she he tried to free himself from the pillar, making sure he didn't injure himself even further when he pulled his head out.

"Round goes to me." Ryker stated and made a shooting motion to Shikarou's head before he walked back to his side. Shikarou snorted and rubbed his head before returning to his own side, stretching and not even bothering to wipe the blood off his face.

"He'd just lodged Shikarou's head into the bloody pillar." Nyx remarked to the group, only receiving nods complete with stares for an answer. He then noticed that the two had begun to move again, this time with Ryker somewhat on the defensive. Nyx noticed how none of his movements and techniques were that of the military and the same could be said for Shikarou though the Umbreon caught glimpses of small military routine from the latter. Shikarou would hold his combat knife underneath his gun to stabilize it and if things called for melee, the knife would prove valuable...Wait, where did he get the knife?

Shikarou suddenly turned around and fired several shots at Ryker who was in top of a pillar. Ryker quickly jumped off of the pillar and landed in a roll, putting himself just a short distance away from Shikarou. Shikarou came forward with a slash with his knife but Ryker rolled backwards, kicking the knife out of Shikarou's claws and sending it into the pillar next to them. Shikarou aimed to gun at Ryker but the latter batted his arm away and with Ryker's opposite arm, he punched Shikarou in the side. Shikarou grunted but succeeded in kicking Ryker back a few feet. "Okay," Shikarou started, "let's get serious."

Ryker smirked before charging at Shikarou, firing off a few bullets at his opponent. Shikarou pivoted to take cover behind the pillar to his left and grabbed his knife, pivoting back into his previous position and throwing his knife at Ryker. Instead of moving out of the way, Ryker let the blade pierce his left shoulder and reached Shikarou who fired his pistol. However, Ryker took his left arm and directed Shikarou's fire to the ground. Shikarou could only widen his eyes when Ryker suddenly sweeped away his legs out from under him. As Shikarou fell, Ryker delivered a punch his chest. The impact caused Shikarou to hit the ground hard, coughing up blood as his body bounced back up due to the powerful force of the punch. Ryker then grabbed Shikarou's head while the latter was still suspended in the air and lifted him. As he lifted Shikarou, he fired six shots in a straight line across his opponent's body, from the abdomen to head. Ryker then dropped Shikarou who coughed a bit before giving Ryker a challenging glare.

"Another round." Shikarou snarled as Ryker smirked and returned to his side.

"Damn, that was freakin' brutal there." Rachel commented, replaying the most recent move Ryker pulled on Shikarou.

"Brutal yet creative somewhat." Lawrence remarked as he started to light a cigarette. However, he remembered that Ammy was with them and sighed with defeat before putting the cigarette away.

They watched as Ryker and Shikarou moved again, both moving quickly and carefully. They met up at the middle and engaged in melee. Ryker ducked backwards as Shikarou delivered a wide swing that passed harmlessly above him. Ryker then felt Shikarou kick down in his stomach, sending RYker to the ground. Ryker, however, didn't allow Shikarou to do anything further and kicked up to his feet. Ryker delivered a low punch to Shikarou's knee, causing his opponent to step back. However, Shikarou responded by elbowing down on Ryker's back. He then followed it up by kneeling Ryker in the chin, sending Ryker's head up with a snap. Ryker regained his bearings and barely had time to avoid a swift jab from Shikarou. He grabbed Shikarou's arm as it passed him and with it, pulled and sent Shikarou sailing over him and into the ground. Ryker didn't stop there, he twisted around and landed a few kicks to Shikarou's downed body before letting go. Shikarou growled and whipped out his gun, firing two shots at Ryker who staggered back as the bullets made contact with the latter's neck and face. Shikarou took this chance and got on his feet, kicking Ryker through several pillars.

Ryker performed an aerial-recovery and landed, kicking a slab of one of the pillars and sending it skidding across the ground towards a charging Shikarou. Shikarou jumped over it, performing a roll and when he got up to his feet, Ryker thrusted out an arm and caught Shikarou in the neck. Shikarou fell onto his back from the move and growled, clapping his hands before two clones of him appeared in front of Ryker. Ryker distanced himself as Shikarou got up and stretched his neck, giving a smirk as his clones glowed. One clone glowed blue while the other glowed red. The red clone charged and delivered a punch to Ryker who ducked and sent to swift strikes to its chest. By that time, the blue clone reached them and tried to attack Ryker from behind. Ryker turned just in time and sidestepped, causing the blue clone to punch the red one. Ryker then grabbed the blue clone, subduing it as Shikarou closed their distance. Shikarou let out a yell as he sent a punch to Ryker who swiftly moved his head out of the way. Ryker then released the blue clone and kicked it, sending it tumbling. He turned around to block another one of Shikarou's punches and noticed the red clone approaching. Ryker evaded a kick from it and grabbed its leg, sending it into the pillar next to him. The red clone tried to dislodge its leg but found that it could not. At that moment, Ryker took several steps back as Shikarou and the blue clone approached him.

Ryker smirked as the blue one summoned a gun and fired at Ryker. Ryker took cover behind a pillar and blindly fired back. When they got close enough, he pivoted out of his spot and fired two shots into the blue clone, staggering it. He then delivered a drop kick to Shikarou who was launched a couple feet back from the force. Ryker recovered from his attack and the two were on him again. However, Ryker dove out of the way as the upper half of the pillar the red clone was lodged in slammed into Shikarou and the blue clone. Ryker took the falling blue clone's leg and swung him at the red clone, sending them tumbling back. He took a moment to regain his breath before all three were upon him. First, Shikarou tried punching Ryker in the back but the latter redirected the punch away and countered with a swift jab to the side. Ryker then turned and blocked a kick from the red clone, crouching as a kick from the blue clone sailed over his head. Ryker then elbowed the red clone's knee, causing it to snap back, and jumped. He surprised all of them by punching the blue clone in the face, at the same time kicking the red clone in the chest. The two clones were sent back as Shikarou tried to fire his gun at Ryker. He succeeded in landing two hits but that didn't faze Ryker as the latter kicking Shikarou's pistol into the air. Ryker punched Shikarou twice in the chest and jumped back as Shikarou made a slash with his knife, managing to inflict a jagged cut into Ryker's arm. Shikarou's gun the fell onto the ground and as it bounced up from the impact, Ryker quickly kicked it and sent it flying into Shikarou's face. When the gun ricocheted back, Ryker snatched it out of the air and turned around, firing twice at the clones and nailing them both in the legs.

He then threw the gun backwards, hitting Shikarou once more in the head before dropping to the ground and kicking out his feet, sending Shikarou sprawling. When Ryker got up, the red clone was running at him and delivered a flying punch at Ryker. Smoothly, Ryker blocked it and countered Sith his own which was blocked by the clone. He then surprised it as he pivoted and backhanded the clone in the side of its head with a clenched fist, sending it down. Ryker suddenly caught Shikarou's knife out of the air and redirected it at its owner, sending it into Shikarou's hand and causing him to cry out in frustration. Shikarou roared and charged at Ryker, diving with his claws fully extended. Ryker dropped into his back and brought his legs up, catching Shikarou with his feet and kicking him into the blue clone who had just gotten up. Ryker got to his feet and barely avoided a bullet to the face from the red clone. He then fired a bullet from his own bullet, the red clone dodged it and firing two back. Ryker sidestepped and ducked as the bullets whizzed by and buried themselves into the pillar behind him. He got up and with a strong roundhouse kick, sent the blue clone which was trying to sneak up on him into the red clone. Finally, he kept up his momentum and in the same movement, delivered an uppercut to Shikarou who was sent into the air by the attack. Ryker then spun and kicked Shikarou in the stomach while the latter was still in the air, sending him far back and landing near the others.

Shikarou panted heavily, all of his energy was drained and his clones disappeared. He was completely spent and looked up to see a limping Ryker walking towards him. To Shikarou, the spar was possibly the most tiring, painful, and most difficult thing he had ever done. To Ryker, the spar was a great exercise and he noted how his shadow clones actually gave him about the same amount of workout like the one he had just received.

"I think you two are done." Aurora told them, Shikarou gave a tired nod in response and Ryker gave a bloody smile, he had accidentally bit his tongue earlier and the blood was smearing all over his teeth. Matt silent cursed in surprise at the sight, actually hating the sight of blood while not really a homophobic. Aurora and Ammy, as well as Rachel who found it funny, widened their eyes at the bloody sight and went silent in shock. Plus, add that to the many cuts and bruises Shikarou gave him in the intense sparring session.

"I...need..a shower..." Ryker stated.

They went back to the suite, Ryker still had a limp, and Aurora helped Ryker in the shower. When she asked him about how intense the spar was, she nearly gasped aloud in shock. "What do you mean your own training is worse?! I never seen you that bloody and bruised before!" she exclaimed as Ryker limped into the shower.

"Well, that's because you've only seen my normal training. However, if you follow me on the three days I do shadow training, I usually end up in a slightly worse condition than this. The shadow clones are slightly more difficult than Shikarou and you never see me like this when I come back because I usually make it back on my own, shower, and heal as I sleep. By the time we're up, my wounds from shadow training are usually gone."

"...I don't know what to say to that."

"No one usually does if I ever tell them. Actually, Jeanne and Vulcan were the only two other than you I told. They couldn't believe me any more than you did."

"Can I watch you one day?" Aurora asked as she did her hair, straightening it out and undoing the knots.

"No!" Aurora stopped what she was doing to hear Ryker exhale slowly. Ryker then turned to her from inside the shower and leaned against the door frame. "It's not that I don't want you to see but it's too dangerous for you to get near. In fact, I nearly died once when the shadow clones went all out. They're clones of ME, Aurora, and while they give me the most of training, they're just as dangerous."

Aurora sighed at this though gave Ryker a mental feeling of understanding. He thanked her and continued to shower, scrubbing his dirty face and taking his fingers through his hair. Suddenly, he felt a mischievous air outside the shower door and looked to see the blurred image of Aurora taking off her shirt.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked, a teasing tone in her voice. Ryker didn't respond for a second before shaking his head, refocusing on scrubbing himself.

"I wouldn't but I don't know if I'd be able to stop myself from going further than just scrubbing." he replied as Aurora took off her shorts next. "Plus, they're right outside, we don't want to-."

"What? Let them hear? There's always soundproof barriers." Aurora replied with a smile, undoing her bra and dropping it onto the sink counter.

"I was actually planning to give you a message later." Ryker cut back, smiling himself as he glanced at the image of her pulling her panties down to the floor before putting them on the bundle of her clothes in the counter.

"Hm. This or the message?...What do you think?" Aurora asked as she stepped into the shower, hugging Ryker from behind as the latter turned his head from the shower. She looked to see him smile warmly, returning the look with a smile of her own. They kissed and their tongues mingled for a few moments before they separated.

"I think," Ryker answered as the light in the room dimmed considerably and his wounds suddenly healed completely. A soundproof barrier was then summoned around them. "either way, you're going to get a message from me later." Aurora shivered as he turned around and trailed his hands down her form, his rough yet gentle palms stroking her from shoulders to her hips. He then nibbled her neck, earning a gasp from Aurora as licked certain spots and rubbed them with his tongue. Every now and then, Ryker would bite a spot and then repeated the action with several licks and rubs, earning moans from Aurora. He then had a sharp intake of air as Aurora began to rub his member. She lightly trailed her nails across the shaft, earning a shudder from Ryker who returned the fair by parting her lower lips with his fingers. He inserted a finger into her and earned another moan, he pumped his finger in long, slow strokes and as a result, a fair amount of leakage was produced. Ryker could tell the fluids belonged to her and not the shower for the water from the shower was cold while her fluids were very warm.

Despite of the shower spraying cold water, Ryker's member became fully erect and it took Aurora a while to cover it entirely with pleasurable strokes. He continued to pump his finger into Aurora's moist womanhood, adding another finger and positioning them to the point where his index finger was curled up in a "come here" motion deep within her while his thumb remained on her clitoris. He stroked the the ceiling deep within her love tunnel with his index finger while his thumb pressed against her clitoris like it was a button. The stimulation was overwhelming for her and Aurora had to instinctively cover her mouth with a hand before moaning loudly into it. In retaliation, Aurora grabbed Ryker's member in a semi-gentle grip and began pumping it, earning a small grunt from Ryker. Ryker lowered his head and latched on to one of her breasts, switching to the other and repeated the pattern back and forth whilst sucking on the nipples and flicking them around with his tongue. He sometimes even bit her nipples, though he did so with little force. Aurora would arch her back in pleasure but she wasn't able to lean back too far since he would still be latched onto her.

Ryker suddenly grabbed Aurora's rump and lifted her, Aurora smiling as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Ryker leaned her back against the wall and gave Aurora's breast a quick treatment before entering her, staring her in the eyes while doing so. Aurora felt like she was going to get lost in his intimidating yet alluring eyes. However, she felt immense pleasure at the same time when he slid into her. Ryker continued to slide into her until he reached as far as he could go, Aurora looking down to see a few inches of his member remaining outside her lower lips. She then gasped as Ryker slowly pulled out of her, leaving only the tip inside her. Aurora silently begged there would be enough lubricant for Ryker's member and widened her eyes as he thrusted back into her. Aurora moaned as she wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning her head against his chest as he thrusted faster and harder into her. Every time he pulled, his member would pull a bit of her womanhood with it and like a slingshot, his thrusts would come back almost twice as powerful. Suddenly, Aurora's climax came early and her inner walls squeezed his member like her life depended on it as her juices sprayed out at Ryker's groin. Ryker then helped her ride out her orgasm and came to a stop so that she could recover.

"I swear.." Aurora gasped as she panted, "you got bigger." Ryker didn't know how to respond to her comment. He didn't know whether or not he should be proud or should he worry about hurting her. The latter won over and he began to pull out only for Aurora to buck her hips at him, driving his member back into her. Ryker looked into Aurora's eyes, smiling as she kissed him. He then thought up and idea. Ryker's pulled until only the tip of his member remained in her and his form started to shift. The lighting dimmed once more as he transformed into his anthro form, the flames on his body caused steam to rise from the shower. Aurora widened her eyes in bliss as she noticed that Ryker grew in size, both his body and his member. To top it off, Ryker suddenly tapped her forward, forcing her body to shift into her slightly smaller, slightly trailer, human form. Aurora moaned as the change earned her more pleasure as Ryker's member took up more space in her lower lips. She then looked to see Ryker giving her a look of questioning, the latter silently asking if he could continue. Aurora nodded with a smile as Ryker began to thrust slowly into her. Aurora clenched her eyes shut nearly dugged her clawless fingers into Ryker's shoulders. If she had her tail in this form, it would have twitched erratically due to her pleasure and her ears would swivel randomly as well. She thought that even her wings would flair up a bit without her meaning to.

Ryker continued to slowly stoke in and out of her, coating his member more of her natural lubricant. Ryker breathed heavily as his head rested against Aurora's, the experience pleasurable for him as well. The transformations allowed him to nearly double their pleasure as her cavern was suddenly tighter to him. In reciprocation, his member felt hugely filling to Aurora. Finally, when there was enough lubricant, Ryker sped up his thrusts and grunted as he felt her walls perform milking suctions to his member. Aurora moaned, the sound pleasant to Ryker's ears, and bucked her hips to meet his thrusts. She somewhat felt bad that Ryker couldn't get full pleasure from it, the latter not being able to hilt himself to her let alone squeeze in his knot, and willed her inner walls to work harder. Surprisingly, it worked and Ryker's grunts became more frequent. Aurora smiled to herself but her face quickly became a mixed expression as more pleasure overcame them. At the earlier thought of his knot, Aurora inwardly shuddered. She couldn't imagine how it would feel to her. Most would probably say it would be painful but then a handful would say otherwise.

Aurora suddenly felt her instincts take over and her body changed back into her anthro form without her meaning to. Ryker was surprised as well but that didn't stop him. As the two's movements became faster and their impacts became harder, Aurora suddenly felt her second climax coming quickly. Aurora arched her back in pleasure, her eyes dilating as she let loose a beautiful wolf-like howl as her wings flared, her ears canted multiple times, and her tail swished back and forth. She then rode out her orgasm as she suddenly felt her fangs sink into Ryker's shoulder and her claws digging a line of fire down his back. Ryker ignored the pain and let loose a howl of his own, this one much deeper and lower in tone as well as somewhat haunting. Ryker's climax hit and pleasure racked through his body. He returned the favor to Aurora and latched onto her neck, his free hand massaged her breasts and his wings nearly pushing out the glass door out of place.

Aurora somewhat whimpered in ecstasy as her climax died down, she felt Ryker's seed enter her and warm her abdomen. She suddenly felt dizzy from their actions, glancing down to see a small bulge forming in her stomach. She widened her eyes in surprise and felt it, expecting it to be Ryker's essence pooling inside her. She then heard an unexpected grunt from Ryker, looking up to see him give her an embarrassed grin.

"Sorry, I might have accidentally pushed too hard in the end...at least it didn't hurt you and your body in any way." Ryker explained as he scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment and nervousness, chuckling to himself while wondering she would react next. Aurora gave him an arch look and felt the bulge again, finally registering what she felt. Yes, she did feel a swirling feeling Ryker's seed pooling in her but that was not all. She felt a hard object there as well.

Aurora blanched. She looked down at their connected sexes and widened her eyes when she noticed that Ryker was hilted to her, his knot being the only thing outside her cavern...He actually pushed into her womb! Aurora looked back up at Ryker with a gaping mouth, the latter worried she was going to freak out. Suddenly, Aurora let out a small laugh surprising him.

"It actually went in all the way...Well that was unexpected." she remarked as she nuzzled Ryker's neck. Ryker let out an exhale of relief before kissing her and waiting for his member to soften before pulling out of her, spilling some of his essence onto the shower floor and mixed with Aurora's draining puddle of fluids of arousal.


	28. Chapter 12 (DR)

****About the late update, I'm slowly starting to stop feeling it. I only have a few reviews and to me, that means I must not be doing a good job. Thank you to those who reviewed or followed/favorite me and this story. And shout out to Guest, I don't know who this is, but this person convinced me to put up this chapter.****

 ** **Disclaimer (I haven't done this for a while): I do not own pokemon.****

 **Chapter 12: The Original Two-Man Army...**

"Oh, that feels heavenly." Aurora muttered as she felt Ryker's hands undo any tension in her muscles. Ryker was on his knees behind her, his hands were on her back. They were now out of the shower and in their room and Ammy was seated on the bed with them. She watched with awe as Ryker's massage earned happy remarks and sighs of relaxation from Aurora. Earlier, Ammy was even more awed at the sight of Aurora in her **Altered Form** and thought that her mother looked really pretty.

 _Does it really feel good, Mommy?_ Ammy asked, curious as she saw Aurora squirm in pleasure under Ryker's kneading hands.

"It does, Ammy. You should ask your father to try it next time." Aurora replied as Ryker turned her onto her back, the former sighing in content. Ammy nodded at Aurora's reply and gave a yip to get Ryker's attention. Ryker began to massage Aurora's upper body, kneading her chest area and rubbed her stomach as he turned his head to the pup.

 _Can I go next, Daddy? I want a massage_. she asked in an excited tone though kept her voice down.

"Of course, just wait a bit longer and when I finish up on her, then I'll give you one." Ryker replied as he worked on Aurora's wings. He then earned a satisfied sigh from Aurora and moved onto her legs which were lazily suspended into the air due to her relaxing on her back. Ryker massaged her fore legs first, then moving on to her hind legs before lifting Aurora and laying her on her stomach once more. He then rubbed her lower back as well as the upper base of her rump and made sure he was gentle with her tail. The other two didn't notice but Ryker became slightly fidgety in that area. Ammy couldn't smell though maybe Aurora could, but Ryker noticed the faintest of scents of his earlier activities with Aurora. The scent was driving him crazy. Sometimes, he wished he had a normal wolf's nose. To them, it may seem faint or even they might not smell anything. But to him, he could smell it as clear as a normal human would if a person were to take a sniff from a cologne sample.

 _Daddy, you're making a funny face._ Ammy said with a giggle, gesturing to Ryker's nose which was twitching about. Ryker noticed it and Aurora turned around to see it as well. Ryker then lowered his head and silently cursed to himself.

"Blood and darkness, help me." he muttered as he regained control of his body as Aurora flashed him a questioning look. _Check your scent...No, check your LOWER scent..._

Aurora did as he said and gave a light blush when she noticed the somewhat fresh scent of their previous arousal. She then smiled, deciding to tease Ryker by shaking her rump a bit inconspicuously, well, inconspicuously to Ammy though Ryker noticed it. The scent instantly doubled in potency to Ryker's nose and she looked to see Ryker shake his head with jerking motions multiple times. He breathed out forcefully through his nose and covered it several times before deciding to just breathe through his mouth.

 _Are you okay, Daddy?_ Ammy asked, genuinely concerned for him. Ryker turned to her and gave a single nod before staring at a fixed point behind her. _Uh uh! I'm not falling for that again!_ Ammy said with a few giggles. She then gave a smug smile and shook her head from side to side triumphantly. Ryker continued to stare at something behind her. _See? All that's going to happen is me turning my head and see nothing._ Ammy turned her head and looked behind her to demonstrate. Taking the opportunity, Ryker flashed a small smirk as he smacked Aurora on the rump.

"Eep!" Aurora yipped as her body jolted in immense surprise. At that moment, Ammy quickly turned her head back to them and then with sudden realization, pawed her muzzle with a shake of her head.

 _Aww, you got me again._ Ammy stated as she shook her head with a giggle. _Good one, Daddy._

"Thanks." Ryker replied with a chuckle, though not to the fact that she fell for it but rather for the fact that he succeeding in getting revenge. Aurora turned to him and gave him a glare, earning an innocent expression from Ryker who shrugged his shoulders before resuming the massage. Aurora tried to glare at him for a while longer but ended up giving him a smirk before relaxing once more.

After several minutes, Aurora's massage was finished and Ammy happily jumped in front of Ryker and waited for instruction. "Alright. I just want you to know that if you asked me a few days ago, I wouldn't have agreed because you grew a lot since then. Your body is now big enough for me to actually massage it and not hurt it instead." Ryker told her, Ammy taking a look at herself after registering what he had just told her. Ryker was right, she surprisingly grew during her time with them. It must have been because of the food and nutrients Ryker had fed her so far as well because for a pup, she had been smaller than usual. Now, she was the size of an average Umbreon. For Nyx, he was a peculiar case since he was just as large as Balto in his bestial form.

 _Did I? I didn't notice._ Ammy responded truthfully as she scanned herself once more.

"You did. Now, lay down on your back for me." Ryker told her. Ammy craned her head to him and gave him a curious look.

 _Why on my back first? Is that a rule or something?_ she asked as Aurora sighed happily on the bed behind Ryker.

"For the same reason I did the same with your mother," Ryker said as he lay Ammy on her back, "I want you to be on your back so that when it's time for you to lay on your stomach, your back wouldn't be uncomfortable right after I finish massaging it. If I massage your stomach first, when I do your back, it wouldn't have to tense up again like it would if I were to massage your back first. Basically, your back would tense up if you roll onto it while I massage your front. Does that make sense?" Ryker explained. Ammy nodded with a smile and let out a surprised sigh as Ryker gently massaged her chest area. "I only had your mother roll over twice because of her wings, I had to double check everything."

Ryker then moved on to her stomach and carefully kneaded it, earning a happy squirm movement from the pup. He continued this for a few minutes before erasing the tension in her legs, using the same motions he used for Aurora but with gentler movements. When he finished, he flipped Ammy onto her stomach and began lightly rapping his fist against her back. He didn't do this to Aurora since she was larger though with Ammy, if he used the same techniques for the pup's back, it would probably hurt her. Ryker then rubbed her shoulders, earning a sigh from Ammy. He focused on them for a minute or so and after feeling there wasn't any tension, moved on to her lower back. Like Aurora, he gently rubbed it with circular motions whilst applying pressure to certain spots. Ammy felt like she was sprawled out on the bed spread-eagled but she really wasn't. She was actually resting on the bed as if she was sleeping, making her body have a figure similar to an "H" if one looked.

Ryker finished working on her lower back before moving on to her muzzle. He massaged either side of her cheeks and gently, as well as slowly, rubbed her nose. Afterwards, he rubbed her chin soothingly as his other hand made circular motions with his fingers whilst applying pressure to the top of her head. Once that was done, Ryker moved on to her ears and simply rubbed them with his thumb and the base of his index finger before finally finishing. "Done." he announced.

Ammy sighed happily and wagged her tail slowly, the sight amusing both Ryker and Aurora. _That felt great...I feel like jelly._ Ammy remarked, struggling to get on her feet as her legs buckled. Ryker quickly grabbed her before anything else happened and set her down next to Aurora who put a wing over her like a blanket.

"You two just rest for a while. I'll go get us some breakfast." he told them before opening the door and going outside.

Later, they were all in the living room, either chatting with each other, playing a board game, or watching TV. Ryker, Lawrence, and Shikarou were playing a game though the rest of them thought it was more brutal than anything. The three were playing a game of BlackJack. Whoever lost the round, Ryker or Shikarou since Nyx wanted no part of it, would lose a finger. The idea was made by Shikarou was bored. Already, Ryker had four broken fingers and Shikarou had three. Nyx, being the only one playing normally, only watched whilst shaking his head at the two.

"Hey guys! We should move onto the next city while we can before another storm comes up." Matt announced, gaining everyone's attention. Ryker put down his cards and snapped his fingers back into place, Shikarou did the same but waved his hand in slight pain.

"That sounds like a good idea." Ryker said then scanned the room, everyone save for Shikarou nodded their agreement. Ryker then turned to Shikarou who was putting away the cards. "Would you like to come with us? If Matt doesn't mind, of course."

"Nah, no I don't mind." Matt said as he went into his room. From within, sounds of him packing could be heard as Sissy followed him in. "We're just going to have to get a bigger suite next time!"

"I don't mind sleeping on their couches. In fact, I prefer doing that over beds." Nyx piped up.

"Same." Shikarou said as he got up and stretched. "Plus, it would be cheaper for you guys."

"Can you put a shirt on already?" Rachel asked, noticing that Shikarou was still shirtless. Shikarou preferred being that way indoors, he didn't mind walking around like that.

"Sure thing, pretty lady." Shikarou replied with a thumbs to Lawrence who gave a smile and nodded in response. Rachel sighed and jokingly made a gagging gesture to her throat, Shikarou laughed at the sight good-naturedly and went to his bundle of clothes. He found his tank-top and put it on, looking back at Rachel. "Now, will you stop checking me out?" Rachel scoffed and flipped him off, earning a chuckle from Shikarou and Lawrence. Shikarou looked around and noticed that Ryker was nowhere to be seen. "What the-? Was he not just standing there? And where did, uh, Ammy is it? Yeah, where did she go?"

The two who were missing were actually in their room. Aurora, back in her anthro form, found them and saw that Ryker was bathing Ammy who sat there with an unsure expression. "I won't argue with you, but you'll learn one day that cleaning yourself is important. You don't want to smell bad around people, do you?" Ryker asked.

 _But Daddy,_ Ammy replied as she tried not to move while Ryker scrubbed her back, _is there an easier way to get clean?_ She then closed her eyes as Ryker poured a small amount of water on her head.

"There is, you can always use your tongue and clean yourself that way. However, I'll teach you how to do that later when I'm confident you could do it on your own without any issues. Plus, I don't want to have to remind you everyday to do so. In time, darling, in time." Ryker replied, Ammy nodding before smiling at his term of endearment for her and sitting still.

 _How would using my tongue clean my fur? Won't my body smell like saliva afterwards?_ she asked, Aurora smiling at the pup's observance.

"Ah, but that's where I come in. When the time comes, I'll show you how to apply a mint leaf to your tongue and clean your fur. That, and how to polish your teeth with a similar method." Ryker replied.

 _"Mint?"_ she asked, not sure what the word meant. At that moment, Aurora cut in.

"It's a type of leaf or flavor of food that tastes refreshing. It makes your tongue tingle and your mouth feel like you inhaled cold air that's not really cold." Aurora explained, earning a curious nod from Ammy.

 _I want to try that! Mommy, do I have to use mint leaves?_

"Of course not, Ammy. You can use all different minds of scented leaves. You could make yourself smile like lemons, aloe, almost whatever you want. Same thing with polishing your teeth and your breath." Aurora explained.

Ryker finished the bath by pouring the rest of the water from the bucket onto Ammy, dousing her and rinsing the soap and such from her body. He then rubbed a spot on her fur between his fingers, finding that it was clean and the suds were gone. Satisfied, Ryker dried Ammy with a small flare of fire, which reminded Ammy of what happened when she ran into the door the other day, and set her on the bed.

 _Daddy? Can you teach me how to do that?_ she asked suddenly, referring to the flare of fire that dried her fur. Knowing what she was talking about, Ryker gave her a smile and rubbed one of her ears.

"Maybe in a month or so when you grow a bit. Then, you would have at least some control over your powers." Deciding to save the questions for the day he teaches her about her powers, Ammy simply nodded as Ryker and Aurora cleaned up the room and packed their things.

Outside, Rachel and Lawrence were standing in front of Matt and Sissy. Rachel hugged Sissy who returned the gesture, Sissy did the same to Lawrence who only froze in surprise at the action. However, he recovered and gave a small handshake to Matt who was rubbing his shoulder from a punch Rachel had delivered to him during their hug.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Matt asked, wincing as he checked his shoulder. "I don't mind paying for your rooms in the future." Rachel waved him off, grabbing Lawrence's hand and leaning her head on the Gengar's shoulder.

"Nah. We have some business here, actually. Plus, Kane's coming here and that means Emie's with him. I miss that joyful Persian." Rachel replied as Lawrence nodded with a smile.

"It was as if it was yesterday little Emie was a Meowth. Time flies." Lawrence remarked. The two then left the room and Rachel opened the door to leave. As she and Lawrence went through the door, Rachel turned around and gave a wave.

"Bye and stay safe guys!" she shouted, earning waves and nods from the group save for Shikarou who gave her a smirk.

"Bye, my sweet." he told her. Rachel responded with a glare and a smirk, also throwing up her middle finger and earning a chuckle from Shikarou. "Love you." he jokingly said as he blew a heart to her. Rachel simply laughed and brought up her other middle finger before leaving with Lawrence who looked amused the entire time.

Ryker and Aurora came out of their room, Ammy on Ryker's shoulder once more. His shoulder and his lap seemed to be Ammy's favorite places, she always seemed to be on either of the two. Shikarou got up and stretched again, Matt noticing for the first time how young the wolf looked.

"Hey," Matt said as Ryker engaged in a conversation with Ammy, "if you don't mind me asking, how old are you?" Shikarou gave Matt a shrug, pointing at Ryker who was now laughing with Ammy over something that happened.

"All I know is that I'm two months younger than him. I lost track of time back in the other dimension, they didn't have clocks or anything." Shikarou turned to Ryker. "Hey, Alpha! How old are you?" Ryker looked down, finally noticing them as Nyx, who was now in his bestial form, took the other spot on his shoulder. Aurora, who gave Nyx an amused shake of her head, looked at Matt with curiosity.

"Thirty, why do you ask?" Ryker replied, earning a shocked look from Matt and Sissy as well as a chuckle from Shikarou.

"No way! You like you're in your early to mid twenties! Like, MY age!" Matt said with disbelief plastered on his face. Ryker shrugged and turned to Aurora who gave Matt a smile.

"How old do you think _I_ am, Matt?" Aurora asked, genuinely curious as to what he thought of her. Matt gave her a calculating look, rubbing his chin and nodding to himself.

"You look really young." Matt said as Sissy nodded vigorously. "Maybe late teens, early twenties. How old are you really?" Aurora beamed and giggled, elbowing Ryker who chuckled as well.

"I'm actually just three days younger than this guy. Thanks, by the way! It's great to hear someone thinks I look young." Aurora replied, earning silence from the two.

"So that makes you older than me." Shikarou stated, earning a nod from Aurora.

"And you're just a little older than me." Nyx added, looking at Shikarou with a nod. Ryker then led his group out the door, Matt and Sissy staring at them as they walked by. The two then snapped out of it and hurried after them, taking up the rear and remaining silent for a few moments.

"So," Matt said as he waved farewell to bed at the counter, "how old that makes you, Nyx? You seem like a really young guy but now I know better."

"Twenty-nine and four months." Nyx replied, he and Ammy ducking their heads as they walked out the doors of the Pokémon Center. Ryker led them to a crosswalk and they waited for a few seconds before crossing the street, walking towards the exit of the city. "I just remembered how I was back then. As a growing Eevee, I used to think a was older than Aurora and acted like she was the little sister I never had. Ah, how the roles changed when I figured out she was older than me." He then sprouted his aura wings, earning looks of shock from nearby people. He hovered next to Aurora and nuzzled her face, earning a laugh from her as she nuzzled him back. "I instantly turned into an annoying little bugger, eh, Aurora?"

"Uhm!" Aurora said as she let out another laugh. "And I also remember how fun it was for us whenever you spent the night. You and my brothers got along so well and we would stay up all night only to sleep half the day the next day. Oh, there was this one time where Nyx and Rayden went out to go looking for girls." Aurora then laughed and earned interested looks from them. Aurora tried to explain but couldn't, looking at Nyx to answer for her. Nyx sighed and dropped to the sidewalk, figuring it would cause quite a stir if he continued to fly in public.

"Ray and I were combing the forest to look for girls at night. We ended up finding two, yeah, and asked them out. What we DIDN'T know were that they were just guys in their anthro forms and they just had really long hair." Nyx shivered. "Bloody Nidokings. Had to run to the nearest infirmary and find an antidote after the chaps attacked us."

"You and Aurora seem really close. Still are, I'd bet." Shikarou commented as they turned a corner.

"Like I said, she's the sister I never had." Nyx replied as he gave them a toothy grin.

"Yeah, he's my most mature brother so far." Aurora said with a giggle as her mind walked down memory lane. At this, she looked to see Ryker smirking and thinking to himself. He seemed to be amuse and Auora wondered what he was thinking about.

 _"Most mature brother" seems right. Let's see who doesn't fit that category...There's her brothers, Balto, Vulcan.._ Aurora elbowed Ryker in the side and gave him a disapproving look, though she had to restrain herself from laughing too. Ryker gave her a smile and let out a chuckle before returning his attention to the road ahead of them which would lead to a route that would take them to Pewter City.

Behind them at the crosswalk, a man was walking in a dark coat with shades on. His face was buried in the newspaper though his eyes were focused on the group. However, he was specifically focused on Ammy who was currently fussing around with Ryker's hair. The man wore a thick plated helmet, capable of preventing psychics to detect him. Knowing that there were some canines in the group, he wore a special spray that would hide his scent.

 _It's the same one, I'm sure of it._ the poacher thought. He then pulled out his phone and took a picture of Ammy, nodding to himself before dialing a number. "Hey, it's Conner. I used to be Stoak's main man...Yes. Now, I'm seeing one that looks like it has powers...How? Dude, there's red markings all over it and the thing's parents shot ice, lightning, AND fire at me...Right away." He then hung up and dialed another number. "...You there?...Yeah, I want as many people you could send over..Why?" The poacher squinted his eyes, seeing Ryker and then glaring before returning his attention to his phone. "I'm seeing the guy who took out Stoak's entire unit...Yeah, I spotted him coming to the warehouse that day from my camp nearby...That's a lot of people..Send them to Pewter."

 **A few hours later...**

"Remember, you have to stay calm when swimming. Panicking will only cause you to drown, not float." Aurora lectured as Ammy doggy-paddled through the water.

 _Yes, Mommy, I know._ Ammy replied as she accidentally splashed Aurora with a tail. The group was someways away from Pewter City, they found a river along the way. After a small debate, they had decided to swim for a while before reaching the city.

Aurora was in a blue bikini, she was laying against a large rock that stuck out from the water. Matt was in his swimming trunks and was teaching Sissy how to swim, the latter very hesitant about the entire ordeal. Shikarou didn't feel like swimming and was roasting some steak over a fire. Nyx was snoozing on a tree branch nearby, his light snoring could be heard if one would walk under him. As for Ryker, he was floating on the water by himself. Aurora turned to look over at him, seeing with surprise that he was sleeping. A sinister grin crossed her face and she called Ammy over.

"Why don't you go over to him and jump onto his stomach? That would give him a good surprise wake-up call." Aurora told her, gesturing over to Ryker. Ammy, excited, let out a yip and slowly swam over to Ryker. Aurora noticed with amusement that the Seeker pup was swimming similar to the way of that she would hunt. When Ammy got close, she sank under the water then suddenly bursted into the air, falling towards Ryker. Unexpectedly, Ryker opened his eyes in a flash and smirked before reaching up and catching Ammy, dipping underwater before surfacing with a laugh. Ammy was yipping tho uh really, she was laughing in her mind.

"Trying to sneak up on me, hmm?" Ryker asked, chuckling as Ammy nodded and nuzzled his face. He looked over at Aurora and smirked, earning an arch look from her. He then leaned closer and whispered into Ammy's ear and the pup began to grin mischievously. She then swam over to Aurora who gave a questioning look.

"What are you going to do?" Aurora asked suspiciously, giving a smirk. Ammy simply smiled and gave a yip, confusing Aurora.

 _Nothing~._ Ammy said in a cute tone, wagging her tail and sending sprays of water to and fro. They stared at each other, not stepping down as the only sound at the moment was the water flowing and Sissy screaming as Matt let her go in the water.

"Really, Ammy, what are you-." Aurora started before all of a sudden, she was grabbed from behind and dragged under. Aurora flailed around, her first making contact with something and earning a muffled grunt. She felt the grip around her loosen and pried herself free, surfacing to see Ammy give a concerned look. Aurora turned to see Ryker surface, giving a laugh when she saw he was holding his bloody nose. Blood dripped into the water though it dissolved on contact since Aurora was constantly purifying the river.

"That actually hurt." Ryker remarked as the blood started to slow in his nose. Aurora shrugged and gave a smirk, watching as Ammy swam up to Ryker in worry and nuzzling him.

"Shouldn't have tried that." Aurora said in a nonchalant tone as Ryker shook his head and chuckled.

"You're mother is a tough one." Ryker told Ammy who slowly nodded in awe.

"Food's ready!" Shikarou announced and they all gathered at the fire pit. After serving everyone, Shikarou looked up to the sky and figured they would reach the city by sundown. He absently chewed his food as he went into deep thought. A while later, everyone finished eating and Shikarou gave everyone a heads up. "I'm going to go report to the boss. I'll meet you guys at Pewter later." He said before opening a portal and leaving.

"When do you think he'll be back?" Matt asked as they hiked. Sissy shrugged and grabbed his hand, leaning on him with a sigh as they trekked through the route.

"It won't take that long, chap. By the time we find the Pokémon Center in Pewter, he'll be back." Nyx replied. They continued to walk and little did they know, someone was tracking them from afar.

 **With Conner...**

Conner put his binoculars down and smirked to himself, checking the time before pulling up the high-powered lens again. He zoomed in on the group, giving a curious look when he saw Ryker turning his head multiple times. "Is he detecting my presence or is he just paranoid?" Conner asked himself. He watched as Ryker continued to do so for another minute or two before putting away his binoculars, getting up and cautiously walking down the route and stalking the group. "Either way," he said before cursing as his foot got caught in a rock, "got to be careful."

As he walked, he pulled up several different pictures he had taken. They were each of a different individual in the group he was following. Conner took a look at Sissy's picture, starting his notes. "Arcanine. Probably will fetch a medium sum." He then pulled up Matt's picture. "We can get rid of him, make sure no one notices he's gone. We can fake a form stating he's going on vacation or something to...Hoenn."

Conner looked through his binoculars again, making sure the group was within view before putting the lens down. He then fished out Nyx's picture. "Umbreon, shiny with blue eyes. I'll get at least ¥75000 for him, more if I can find a gay buyer." Shikarou's picture. "Can't sell him. He can definitely tear throats out easily. Got to kill him then." Aurora's and Ammy's pictures. "With her...I'll keep her myself. With the little one, she'll fetch about ¥50000. The younger, the better."

Finally, Conner pulled out Ryker's picture and glared, gritting his teeth and tearing the picture in half. "For you, I'll kill you myself." He then checked the group's status again before running a bit to catch up while staying out of sight. Conner wasn't a runner, but he can definitely hold his own in a fight. His build was slightly above average and his intelligence was not one to be taken likely. His phone rang and Conner sighed before picking it up. "Conner."

"They're at Pewter waiting for you." the caller said, Conner smiling as he noticed there was a slurping sound on the other end.

"Perfect. I'll be there as soon as I can...And are you getting ass, man?" he asked. A grunt sounded in reply before an "Oh, yes. I love it on my face." can be heard in a sultry tone by a women. Another grunt and a masculine groan of pleasure could be heard before the sound of someone licking their lips from the phone.

"Not exactly. More like getting head...Whoops! Looks like it will be ass though. Like at that tight pucker..." was the caller's reply before Conner chuckled and hung up. Conner suddenly had a small dull pain and looked down to see a bulge in his pants. Apparently, the vulgar talk and activities he had just heard proved to be too much to ignore. Conner sighed and tried to ignore it, he could be seen walking awkwardly as he stalked his targets.

Eventually, the group reached Pewter and Conner had to wait for several minutes before following them in. He continued to follow them until they reached the Pokémon Center. As he waited outside, he decided to check his email of which was sent to him around the time he reached the entrance of the city. The email gave him a location and Conner only smirked before putting away his phone. An hour or so later, the group left from the Pokémon Center and Conner found that Shikarou was with them again. He decided to be extra careful now and followed them from afar to the city's Gym. He saw Ryker return Aurora and Nyx to their pokéballs and clipping them to his belt while Matt announced that the rest of them were going to watch.

"Damn. It's going to be a while before they're done. Wait, I'd bet I could get the guys before they finish up here." With that, Conner left and made his way to the building his email told him of. After making several turns down alleyways and passing a few rundown buildings, he reached a warehouse similar to that f the one in Viridian. He opened the large garage on the side and laughed, finding a large group of poachers armed to the teeth.

"We're ready." one of them announced as most of them gave him a nod.

"Good." he said before taking out his pictures and passing them throughout the crowd. "These are the targets. Kill the wolf but capture the white pup and Arcanine alive. Kill the brown-haired guy but hear me, if ANY of you, lay a finger on or put a bullet in the last guy, this one with black hair, I'll make sure you'll never see the light of day again."

 **Back with Ryker and the group, about twenty minutes later...**

"That wasn't so bad." Matt said as they all began to reach the Gym's lobby room.

"That, it wasn't. Aurora really swept the floor with them with her Water-type attacks.." Ryker said as he looked at her pokéball, feeling a warm radiance from her from within. He also felt the same thing from Nyx's pokéball though there was a cocky aura to it as well. He lifted his hand, the Rock Badge within, and placed his newest badge in his case.

Ryker then let his mind return to earlier. He couldn't figure out why, but his instincts were going crazy on the way to Pewter. They've never been wrong before so could they were being tracked? Ryker looked at Ammy. She was shaking at the moment. He had asked her why but all he got was whined as well as " _Bad man._ " in response. Ryker shook his head, deciding to worry about it as soon as they got to the Pokémon Center.

"Nyx was pretty great too. He threw them off so bad when he used his wings." Shikarou remarked as they stepped outside the Pokémon Center.

All of a sudden, they heard the sound of something small and metal thrown to the ground in front of them. It took Ryker and Shikarou a moment but by the time they realized it, it was too late.

"FLASHBA-!" Ryker tried to warn them but was suddenly blinded by a sharp white light. He heard shouts of surprise from his group and onlookers as well as a few struggling. He then heard approaching footsteps before he was tackled to the ground. Ryker grunted as he felt a knife bury itself in his chest and the attacker made it worse by stomping on the handle. Ryker growled and tried to get up but the attacker fired a bullet, successfully shooting him in the head.

"Forget about the plan! We don't have time to do more. Let's go!" a voice sounded before the attackers took off, the effects of the flashback wearing off before everyone saw what happened. Shikarou stood there, bloodied, with a single poacher within his grip. With a hand, Shikarou rubbed his eyes in irritation before scanning the rest of the group. Matt was getting up from the ground, a bloody knife in his hand and a bleeding unconscious poacher next to him. Sissy stood, shaking and her eyes red, behind Matt with a cut in her ear. Her boküto was in her hands and it was bloodied as well though it seemed her attacker escaped. Nyx's pokéball was on the ground rotating slowly and Shikarou widened his eyes when he noticed that Ammy was gone. He was about to shout for her but then noticed Ryker on the ground, bleeding from his chest and head.

"Fuck! Alpha!" Shikarou exclaimed before dropping the poacher and running over to the downed Fenrir.

"Oh, shit! Ryker! Ryker!" Matt said as he kneeled down beside Shikarou. Sissy couldn't say anything, she was frozen in shock. There, Ryker lay with a knife in his chest, probably stabbed through the heart, and a bullet hole in his head. She couldn't believe it. She then noticed Nyx's pokéball shaking erratically and picked it up, releasing Nyx.

The Umbreon took a look at the scene, widening his eyes as he saw Shikarou slapping Ryker's face in an attempt to get a response. He also noticed that Ammy was gone as well as Aurora whose pokéball was nowhere to be seen. He ran over to Ryker, shaking him by the shoulder. "Oi! Get up, mate! Don't die on me, you arsehole!" Nyx shouted.

They didn't get a response from Ryker and his pool of blood seemed to grow rapidly with each second. "Come on, man! Open your eyes, dammit!" Shikarou said, thinking about removing the knife but stopping himself since doing so would cause the Fenrir to bleed more. Plus, the knife had teeth along one side, it would tear flesh on the way out. Nyx, frustrated and panicking, dug a claw inside Ryker's arm as hard as he could to try and get a response.

"Get up, damn it!" Nyx said as they saw Ryker's breathing slow. "You can't die on us!" They tried for a while more. Sissy suggested that they should take him to the Pokémon Center or call an ambulance but Matt interjected and said it would take too long. Still, after a while, they didn't get a response from Ryker whose breathing came to a sudden stop.

"No," Nyx said as Shikarou cursed and punched the ground, "no, you can't be-...You can't roll over now!" Nyx got up to Ryker's face and gave it a slap. "Damn it all, Ryker! Those motherfucking cunts made off with Aurora and Ammy! They NEED you! Get. The fuck. UP!" Still no response.

"Nyx-" Matt started to say but the Umbreon raised a paw to shut him up. There were sounds of panicking people and sirens though they ignored it.

"You survived extinction." Nyx began, Matt and Sissy giving confused looks in response. Nyx continued. "You survived from the three Weather Trio and Deoxys as Aurora told me." Another slap to the face. "Deucalion or whatever his name was...You survived a stab to the chest by your own sword and a sword of Light." Nyx raised his paw and brought it down on Ryker's face, effectively punching the Fenrir. "You survived from this "Eragon" bloke. You survive LYGON and the Beacon." Nyx grabbed Ryker's head with both paws and shook it. "But you can't survive A GODDAMNED KNIFE AND A SINGLE FUCKING BULLET TO RESCUE YOUR MATE AND DAUGHTER, YOU FUCKING DOG!"

Suddenly, Ryker's eyes opened and revealed them to be predatory with black sclera. Nyx shouted, scared out of his wits, and fell back as Ryker sat up with a wince and pulled out the knife with an angry shout. He then growled as he grew his claws and dug into his skull, pulling out the bloody bullet as well as a piece of his skull which had flesh clung to it. Matt vomited and Sissy turned green as Ryker seared the wounds closed, the Fenrir took a moment to collect himself before turning to Nyx.

"They're gone?" he asked in a deathly calm voice. Nyx simply nodded, his eyes wide and his body shaking. Who _wouldn't_ have that reaction after seeing the dead rise. Ryker turned his attention to his claws which turned back into hands. Matt and Sissy was about to say something but Ryker cut them off. "I'm not human." Matt and Sissy stared as Shikarou helped Ryker up. The latter gave Shikarou a serious look before pointing to the two poachers.

"Yeah, they're part of the guys who attacked us. We should interrogate them." Shikarou said, his eyes showing shock as well. "But DAMN man, how the hell did you survive that?" Ryker turned to him, his eyes caused Shikarou to shiver and nearly let out a whimper of submission.

"By will." Ryker said before walking over to the two poachers and grabbing them. "Take care of the witnesses." Ryker said in monotone. Shikarou nodded as Ryker warped both himself and the rest of the group away. Shikarou then turned to face the onlookers and formed a circle with his hands, a black and purple orb appeared before he released it, wave passed through the crowd. The witnesses suddenly ignored them, doing their own things as if nothing had happened. Shikarou gave a grim smile before warping to the Pokémon Center.

He appeared in the suite just as Ryker tied the rope into a knot around the men to the chairs. Nyx suddenly walked up to him and gave an arch look. "What did you do to them?" he asked.

"Mind wipe of everything within a time frame of my choosing. I don't like to do that, but it had to be done. It takes a few days to recharge though." Shikarou replied. They then saw as Ryker grabbed the attention of one of the men.

"The ones that were taken from us, where were they taken?" Ryker asked, his tone still lacked emotion.

"Yeah fuckin right, as if we'd tell you. Why don't you go suck a dick and shove it up your ass?!" one of them replied, earning a laugh from the other. At this, Shikarou winced audibly. He saw the rest of them save for Ryker give him a look and he shook his head.

"People should learn not to test him." Shikarou said. "He can be immensely patient but when he gets like this,...yeah."

"What? Is he going to go Hulk on us?" the same poacher asked sarcastically, earning another laugh from his partner. Ryker suddenly went over to the other poacher. One by one, he broke the poacher's fingers and wrists as well as snapped his ankles. All the while, the poacher screamed in agony but that was drowned out by the soundproof barrier Ryker had already placed.

"Tell us. Now." Ryker said.

"N-No way. What? Do you think we'll give up after that? Look," he said as Ryker lifted the crying poacher's head before his partner continued. "we're trained not to talk after torture so you might as well-." Ryker suddenly dug his now clawed hands into the crying poacher's chest, earning a scream from the victim. Ryker then silently pulled the poacher's ribs out, the result was the ribs looking like an upturned dead crab though instead, the now dead man. The other poacher blanched and went silent, horror stricken. The rest of the group was just as terrified, Shikarou had never seen Ryker this brutal. Ryker then walked over the the alive poacher and placed his bloody claws on the man's forehead, the latter soiling his pants as urine soaked thorough the front of his pants.

"I can do the same to you, if you want. Except, when that happens, I'll do it slowly and allow you to watch until you can see your heart stop beating. Or, I can just probe your mind and get what I want before having it turn into mush." Ryker offered, his four large fangs, his teeth suddenly turned into fangs and his incisors turned sharper. Most notably, his four canines grew larger and sharper as Ryker growled. "Last chance. Choose wisely."

The poacher immediately screamed and nodded vigorously, he began to struggle in his bonds though it was futile. "I will! I will! I'll tell you! Just don't kill or eat me!" he answered. Ryker withdrew and his teeth returned to normal as well as his canines though they remained sharp and slightly larger than normal. "They're at the warehouse a few blocks down from here! The place is filled with more men like me and they're armed with military-grade weapons! Just please let me go!" he answered.

Ryker remained silent for a moment before he nodded and turned around, reaching out to the man's face. Suddenly, the back of the man's head exploded outwards as they barely noticed tendrils of Nothing emerge from the hole before disappearing. Blood sprayed with the fragments flying out as well as pieces of his brain in chunks. They watched, Shikarou and Nyx shocked while Matt and Sissy turned green again.

"I thought you said you were going to let him go?!" Matt shouted, his stomach lurching at the sight of the two dead men.

"I never said that. I nodded to myself when I found he wasn't lying. As for not letting him live, he was quick to betray his group so letting him live would be a bad idea. He might have turned around and tried to kill us or call for backup or to warn them. Either way, nothing good will come out of letting him live. That's why I killed him." With that, Ryker reached out with one of his hands once more as he looked out the door in case of anyone spying on them. The two bodies suddenly went up in Void flames, the black fire hungrily ate away and leaving nothing behind and Nothing, which again looked like darker than normal shadows, erased what it could from existence. Eventually, there was no evidence of the two poachers and even the chair was gone. Making a mental note to pay for the chair later, Ryker left with the rest of the group following.

 **At the warehouse...**

"Did you think you could escape? Too bad. Hey, at least you're with her." Conner sneered as he kicked the cage, Ammy whining in fear and hiding behind Aurora who was sedated. Though the sedative didn't numb her mind, it paralyzed her and temporarily drained her of her powers. Conner then laughed to himself and went downstairs, where many, many, poachers began drinking and partying. Fortunately, they hadn't capture any other Pokémon or animals yet so thankfully, there wasn't any noises of rape.

Aurora remembered what had happened for she was watching through the pokéball the entire time. She figured out that Conner and the poachers were undetected because of their de-scenting spray as well as the thick-plated helmets they wore. She figured that they planned it out earlier and then silently cried to herself. Ammy cried as well and snuggled on Aurora's chest Aurora for comfort. They both saw Ryker go down and both witnessed him being stabbed and shot in the head. The two didn't want to think about it, for the idea of Ryker being dead would drive them out of control.

"There, there, Ammy." Aurora said through her sniffles. She found that she could move her head and neck and reached down to nuzzle Ammy. "Everything will be okay."

 _I-I *sniffle* I want Daddy t-t-to be with us._ Ammy replied, her tears warm against Aurora's body.

"Shh. Shh. Listen to me, Ammy. He's going to rescue us, I'm sure of it." Aurora said reassuringly, even though it pained her to say it. However, she had absolute faith in what she said and gave the Seeker pup a confident look. Ammy saw this and calmed down a little, nodding with a small smile before curling up in a ball with her head resting on Aurora's chest. Aurora, wincing as it was excruciatingly painful, winced as she draped a wing over Ammy. After that, she let out and exhausted sigh and remained still to catch her breath. All of a sudden, an explosion went off and shortly after, Conner ran up the stairs with four men at his heels.

"One of you go warm up the car. The rest of you uncage them and put them in the car. I'll be with you after I grab the files." he ordered before running over his computer and typing away.

 **Hiding behind a wall...**

"Did they just blow up the bloody entrance?!" Nyx sharply whispered.

"I don't know! Maybe!" Matt said as he looked behind him, seeing that some distance away, Ryker and Shikarou entered a gaping hole of the warehouse. "Yes, they blew up the fucking door!"

"Good thing they put a sound barrier around the building." Sissy remarked, being the only one somewhat calm. Nyx then suddenly sighed in frustration, cursing Ryker and Shikarou for not letting the three go with them. He then raised his paw and formed a silver orb, revealing it to be a scrying orb and the three looked at it rather than sitting there and do nothing. The orb revealed Ryker and Shikarou walking calmly through the lowest floor of the warehouse.

Three poachers ran up to Ryker and Shikarou, all equipped with melee weapons. "I got them!" Shikarou said as he took an offensive stance before Ryker. "Go look for Aurora and Ammy!" Ryker nodded and ran off, going through the doorway at the other side of the room. At that moment, more poachers filed in the room Shikarou was in, the wolf smirked and popped his neck before giving a taunt. "Come at me, bitches."

 **With Ryker...**

Ryker calmly walked, two poachers ran at him only for him to block an oncoming bat and redirecting it to the other poacher's head. He then took the bat and used its other end to hit the first poacher in the nose. Ryker moved on, seeing multiple poachers with guns. They all fired at him though Ryker rolled to the side and pulled a hiding poacher up to cover himself. Bullets tore into the poacher though Ryker remained unscathed on the other side. Once the hail of bullets stopped, signaling that they were reloading, Ryker pulled a pistol from the body he was using as a shield and fired several times, successfully hitting about half of the dozen men that were there. After hearing several curses, Ryker found that the clip was empty and threw the magazine at a poacher, throwing the gun at another. The two parts connected with his targets and Ryker rushed up to the remaining group, his movements a blur before he stood on the other side of the mob.

All the poachers slumped to the floor, their necks torn and their eyes wide though empty. Ryker turned down a hallway and found more men with weapons waiting for him. Acting quickly, Ryker dove behind a crate and ducked as a torrent of bullets tore into the box and exiting through the other side. Something fell out of one of the holes that were made and Ryker saw that it was a grenade. He silently cursed to himself and turned around, kicking the crate towards the group. As soon as the crate reached the group, Ryker set fire to it and the box exploded, sending limbs all over the place and those who survived, sprawling across the floors while screaming.

Ryker got up from his position and made his way past the bloody mess, his steps making an unsettling sloshing noise as he stepped into the growing puddle of blood. The deafening screams of the dying poachers didn't deter him from his goal, their wails were drowned out as his focus was on rescuing Aurora and Ammy. He found himself in a large circular room, a line of men blocked his path though they seemed fairly confident for some reason. Ryker stopped, barely catching the ruse.

All around him, motion sensor mines crackled into view, their invisibility functions wore off and Ryker found that he could no longer move from his spot. Once they all came into view, red lights flashed from their surfaces, signaling that they were now all activated for their intended purposes.

"Ain't so tough now, huh, punk?" one of the poachers, female, jeered as she picked up something from the floor. She brandished it to him and allowed Ryker to see that she was holding another mine though this one wasn't activated like the rest. She smiled smugly and exaggerated a motion of her throwing the mine to his spot which, if it happened, would definitely set off multitudes of explosions. Ryker simply stood there, his eyes hard and his posture unwavering. "What's the matter? Speechless? I thought so."

Ryker suddenly raised a hand. Several poachers jumped at this and readied their weapons. Not taking any chances, the female poacher threw the disabled mine at Ryker's proximity. Time seemed to slow for them all, it was as if the mine was moving at a fraction of its actual speed towards the floor.

As fate would have it, all poachers shouted in horror and shock as all the activated mines were suddenly around them instead. A few tendrils of Nothing lingered for a few moments before disappearing. Ryker watched as the mine that was hurled into the air fell to the ground and landed a few inches behind the furthest activated mine of the mass. A split second later, the activated mine went off which caused a chain reaction for the others ones to do the same. In a blink of an eye, nothing remained in the area before him save for an immense amount of charred building and a gaping hole in the floor. It was only until Ryker took a step forward was when he finally spotted the bodies.

Limbs fell like blown debris and blood patterned onto the floor like rain. Ryker simply walked through it all, he wasn't fazed by the pouring blood and hardly reacted when a limb or something the like landed somewhere on his body. By the time he made it into the next hallway, his clothes were drenched in blood and some chunks of gore. It was a horrid sight, one that would surely cause those of the weak-hearted to vomit. Ryker suddenly slowed to a stop and sniffed the air, sorting through the several scents he was detecting and zeroing in on his two loved ones. Knowing that they were still somewhere in the area, Ryker continued on. His sudden stop then continuation in movement caused heavy droplets of blood to drip onto the floor from his hair.

 **With Shikarou...**

Shikarou raised his arms and blocked two weak punches from a puny poacher. He sighed as he dropped his guard and kneed the man in the groan, sending him to the ground. Shikarou then looked up and readied himself as two poachers made their way to them.

Earlier, he jokingly proposed that they should fight barehanded since there was only one of him and dozens of poachers. Surprisingly, they agreed to his condition, unknowingly missing that he was joking. Still, it mattered little to Shikarou. To him, the odds were even more in his favor so why should he complain?

Shikarou got in a stance, a poacher blanched as he recognized it. Shikarou's arms were curled up and his hands were clenched in fists. The wolf's elbows were directed outwards and his feet was constantly moving in place, adding a small bounce in the stance.

"He knows Muay Thai! That style is meant for killing!" Shikarou smiled at the man's knowledge, though he was slightly disappointed that the surprise was ruined. However, he dismissed the thought as the two approaching poachers made a move for him. One dove for Shikarou's waist, the man's goal was to knock Shikarou off balance. However, the man had calculated both his and Shikarou's inertia incorrectly and failed miserably at the attempt. This reckless move earned a hard, bone-crunching elbow jab from Shikarou to the man's back. The latter instantly went limb and Shikarou had to duck to avoid the wide swing thd other attacker threw at him. Shikarou let the dead man slump off his knee and kneed the other in the stomach. This caused the poacher to double over and let out digestive bile. Shikarou didn't relent. He followed it up with an elbow to the nose and then executed a maneuver which allowed him to knee the man in the nose once before elbowing his back and sending him to the ground. Really, Muay Thai didn't have much of a variety of moves. However, its deadlines made up for the things of which it was lacking.

Shikarou heard yelling behind him and turned around to see a poacher, covered from head to toe with armor, charge at Shikarou like a bull. The attacker's helmet had grand horns on it and Shikarou smiled as an idea formed in his head. As the attacker came closer, Shikarou waited at the last moment before pivoting, effectively avoiding the charge from the man. The poacher turned around only to see Shikarou's elbow connect with the front of the helmet, denting the nose area as a painful cracking noise filled the air. The man screamed out in pain though it was cut off as Shikarou took the dented helmet in his hands and twisted it violently.

A sickening crack and the sound of tearing flesh filled the air. The attacker's body went limp as blood poured down his neck in rivulets. Shikarou tugged, finding resistance from the dented helmet. He figured that it was because the dent caused the helmet to lodge itself stuck with the lifeless man's head. After a few more tugs, the helmet came off with a wet popping nose to see that the man's head was horribly twisted around. Blood poured from the wounds of the neck which showed that some bones had pierced through the surface due to the violent action that Shikarou committed.

"Oh," Shikarou remarked as he gestured to a neck bone that had a grayish-silver mark scraped onto it, "that bone caught onto the helmet." The sight caused a few poachers to pale and some turned a sickly green. A poacher lost his lunch and sounds of vomiting filled the room. Shikarou stepped back and poked the still upright body, sending it crashing limply onto the floor. He then turned and give them all a crooked smile. "Who's next? Or should I choose for you?" he asked.

Instantly, more men came upon him and Shikarou smiled to himself before taking another stance, this time, with his arms wide with one above his head and the other slightly below his waist. His hands were open-palmed with his fingers pointing to his opponents. This was a stance of Kung Fu.

"Just make this easier for us and stay still!" one of them shouted as he came over and tried to deliver a roundhouse kick. Shikarou brought up an arm, almost lazily, and redirected the kick and pivoted, keeping up his momentum and countering with a strike to the back of the poacher's neck in a sideways chopping motion. The attacker let out a small grunt before going limp and when he fell forward, Shikarou caught him and swung the body over him. He succeeded in pinning a couple others to the floor and then jumped back since he noticed that the remaining group of poachers were slowly sneaking out of his view.

 _Shikarou! You need to hurry to Ryker!_ Nyx's voice sounded out of nowhere. Shikarou visibly showed his confusion and located the Umbreon, finding that Nyx was just outside of the warehouse behind another building.

 _Why? Is he in danger? He could handle himself._ Shikarou responded as he grabbed an oncoming arm and threw the owner over his back.

 _No! Aurora and Ammy are getting taken away somewhere! They're leading her to the bloody garage so hurry up and finish up what you're doing!_ Shikarou growled in frustration and suddenly changed styles, giving an uppercut to another attacker. He then took a deep breath and exhale, he clasped his hands together and stomped on the floor with one of his feet. The result ended with the group of poachers around him being blown back by an invisible source.

 _Since you can talk to me,_ Shikarou said as he pulled out his weapon, a single hand cannon that looked like it could do a whole lot of damage, _then why didn't you warn him first since he's closer to them?_

 _... I feel like a fuckin' piss-drinker right now._

 _I bet you do._

 _Arsehole. By the way, behind you._ Shikarou turned around and fired his gun, effectively blowing a large, bloody hole into the sneaky poacher's head. He then noticed that there was a few more ahead, but armed with weapons. Shikarou smiled to himself. He had thought that they were going to get annoyed of him soon enough. And so, as the body of his most recent victim fell forward, Shikarou decided to stick the barrel of his gun through the hole he made in the man's head and fired at the poacher's. They fired back at him though the body shielded him from most of the bullets. Shikarou barely winced as a few bullets grazed his sides and shoulders. He pressed on like a juggernaut, though unlike a juggernaut, he was running. The body hanging around his gun barrel was flailing around limply as he rushed around the room, picking off poachers one by one as they tried to kill him. The corpse tool most of the bullets though Shikarou earned a couple of bullets in his arm and leg. The injuries did little to slow him and by the time he finished killing the last of the dozens of poachers, the corpse hanging from his gun barrel slumped to the floor while the barrel remained glowing a light orange-red before cooling down.

Shikarou didn't bother to take a break and ran after Ryker, wincing at the bloody messes and the bodies the Fenrir left behind in his wake. Shikarou also noted the dead juggernaut in the hallway. He decided to take a few seconds to loot the body and harvested a few clips of ammo for his hand cannon and belted a few grenades. He then froze, spotting the minigun which lay on the gtound and glinted in the light. He remained still for several moments, ignoring everything else around him. He then gave a horrifying grin and chuckled darkly to himself.

 **With Nyx, Matt, and Sissy...**

"We should be there to help!" Sissy growled, mirroring Shikarou's earlier frustration. Nyx's ears lowered and the Umbreon shook his head.

"They wanted to do this on their own, and if we get involved and the Kanto Army finds out, we would have to look forward to staying behind bars no matter whichever side we're on. These poachers are actually part of a large organization which is a branch of this one target group Kanto's after. With those two, they'd be able to avoid arrest since their history with the Army." Nyx then chuckled. "Besides, I'd be more worried about the blokes who kidnapped our sweethearts. Body count is going to be very, very high."

They focused on the scene the orb was giving them, one that showed Ryker holding a poacher by the head and crushing it without a hint of effort. The poacher fell in a small shower of red as Ryker continued on, waving his hand over himself and removing all traces of blood on his body and clothes. The three somewhat relaxed at the sight, they thought the image of him bathed in blood would've sent Aurora and Ammy into quite a shock. Nyx tapped the orb and prodded Ryker's mind, gaining permission from the Fenrir before he was allowed in. _You need to hurry, mate, they're transferring Aurora and little Ammy to a car in the garage in the back of the building._

 _...Thank you for the heads-up, Nyx, that's crucial information._ Ryker replied as the Fenrir began to run down yet another hallway and engaged in a melee with another poacher. He moved his head to the side to avoid a punch then gave a destructive uppercut which caused the poacher to drop his gun. Ryker's ears twitched and he stepped on the pistol at an angle on the handle. The action caused the pistol to spin into the air and land in his hand. Without turning around, Ryker fired off three bullets and dropped the gun before walking away. Behind him, another poacher fell to the ground with a bullet hole in his head, neck, and heart. _I'll be sure to repay you when we get back._

 _Wait,_ Nyx said as he grew slightly excited though his worry for the two kidnapped helped him restrain himself, _no need for that. I'm just as worried for them as you are._

 _That may not be true._ Ryker shot back, earning a challenging look from Nyx who glared at the Fenrir through the orb.

 _What do you mean by that?_ Nyx asked with an edge in his voice.

 _I mean that I'm not worried as much. You see, Nyx, I had already formulated a plan before we broke in. Due to the new information you gave me, there's a slight change in it now but it doesn't matter. Understand this, I WILL rescue them without so much as a scratch on their bodies._ Ryker replied. Nyx simply stared and opened his mouth in a futile attempt to speak. However, he just gave up and the three watched as Ryker sped towards a door at the end of a hallway.

 **With Ryker...**

Ryker shoved through the door, sending it crashing into the wall across from Jim. His nose instantly twitched and he looked to the left to see a cage which had traces of the scents of Aurora and Ammy. He could tell that they were there recently and remained still for a moment, his mind working out several alternatives and outcomes before noticing movement behind him.

Ryker ducked as a knife sailed in an arc to where his head used to be. He then spun as he stepped out the attacker's legs, sending the latter to the ground. "Where are they?" Ryker asked, his tone laced with hidden venom.

"I fucking swear, we shouldn't even be having this conversation." was the reply as the attacker kicked up back onto his feet, holding his knife in a ready position. "Either I'm seeing ghosts or people can all of a sudden survive a bullet to the head and a stab to the heart." It was then Ryker finally recognized the man's scent, determining that the poacher before him was the same one who tried to kill him earlier.

"My skull is harder then most." Ryker said as he pulled out a knife, his ear twitched and Ryker heard a familiar whining in the background. "You missed my heart, by the by." He then pulled out a hunting knife, holding it in a backhanded grip.

"Even then, I don't know about pokémon it anything but humans shouldn't be able to walk like that. I think you just made history." Conner replied, he lunged at Ryker with a yell and grinned smugly as he successfully landed a stab in his target's side. However, he noticed that the black-haired fighter before him didn't react in the slightest.

"That makes sense," Ryker said as he retaliated by stabbing Conner on the shoulder, the action caused the poacher to give a small yell in pain and drop his knife, "because you definitely wouldn't call me human if you knew me." Conner snarled in anger and brought up another knife from his belt. With a grunt, he tried to stab Ryker in the jugular but couldn't since Ryker had released him and leaned back, the knife missing his neck by inches. Before Ryker could do anything else, Conner followed through with a hard knee to Ryker's chin.

Ryker's head whipped back from the force though he remained upright. Appalled, Conner watched as Ryker slowly leveled his head and gave him a terrifying smirk. For a second, Conner wondered what he had gotten himself into. "Since I'm not planning to let you live and I need to go to the garage here as soon as possible, I'll give you one of the many names people give me." Ryker said, his voice once more devoid of emotion. Conner suddenly felt dread, his heart skipped a few beats and sweat began to bead down his forehead. Ryker took a step forward, Conner responding by taking a step back.

"What are you?" Conner asked, he tripped and fell onto his back then hastily scrambled back.

"I'm about to tell you." Ryker replied as he spun the point if his knife slowly on his finger. He then crouched, staring at Conner at eye level with a gaze that made Conner feel as if his very soul was being hunter down. "The dice of life have fallen. The weak and poor will lose. The rich in their ivory towers can't feel that their head's in the noose. No chance to talk me 'round, not when I'm spreading my wings. The form of unrivalled fear, I am the base of beggars and Kings." As he finished, his eyes turned completely black though the watching three outside noticed that his irises weren't visible like they usually were. Conner began shaking. If one would listen, his teeth would be audible as they were repeatedly clacking in response to his fear. "What am I?"

No answer. Ryker waited for another moment and heard the sound of heavy metal being lifted off the floor in the background. He figured that it was the garage in the building and concluded that it was time to go. "I suppose your reaction would be normal for most, if not, all." Ryker stated without a hint of pride or boasting in his voice. "How unfortunate... No, how _fortunate_ that you're going to die without knowing what I am. For, if you did, you would remember my face in total fear even in the afterlife." Ryker then bared his fangs as he growled. He grabbed Conner by the neck and lifted the fear-stricken man off the ground. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Suddenly, smoke began to rise from Conner's pores, including his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. Ryker dropped Conner and turned around before running towards the direction of the garage. At that moment, Conner blinked with wide eyes as he realized that he had just been spared. He figured it must've been because the sound of an engine roaring in the garage.

Ryker found himself in the garage only to see a car peel away with a loud squeal of the tires. He cursed to himself and ran back, heading for the entrance of the building as the road from the garage led there. He back down the many hallways and made the many turns. He nearly crashed into Shikarou but was able to move out of the way just in time.

"Where are they?" Shikarou asked as he noticed Ryker's frown.

"In a car. Come with me, we'll catch them. Nyx, Matt, Sissy, meet us outside though try to stay out of sight." Ryker said as he looked up, knowing that the three outside were still scrying on them. Shikarou only looked at Ryker with confusion but the Fenrir didn't give him a chance to ask for an explanation since Ryker immediately bolted down the hallway. Shikarou sighed with a shake of the head before running after Ryker, trying to keep up with the Fenrir.

"You noticed their weapons and armory? Their helicopters and tanks?" Shikarou asked as they made a turn.

"I did." Ryker replied as they neared the entrance. "All of it was stolen from the Army. I'll pay a visit to them when we're done here." They made another turn before Ryker noticed the sound of metal slapping against flesh. He looked back at Shikarou and noticed what the wolf was carrying. With a shake of the head, Ryker returned his focus to getting outside as Shikarou laughed aloud since he noticed the former's look.

They finally reached the area they blew a hole in. However, they were slightly caught off guard when they saw a large mass of poachers armed to the teeth. There were about a hundred or so of them, causing Ryker to look over at Shikarou in annoyance. "I thought you were going to take care of them?"

"I guess they regrouped." Shikarou responded though with an excited tone. Ryker simply warped outside, taking out his keys in time to see the car containing Aurora and Ammy speed off. With a growl, Ryker pressed a button and a few moments later, his car appeared through a black portal and braked to a stop before him. Ryker then looked up to see Matt and the other two watching with wide eyes.

"Back seats, now." Ryker told them. He unlocked the car and the three hesitantly made their way into the back. Ryker then looked over to where the building was at in time to see Shikarou enjoying himself. There, in Shikarou's possession, was a minigun which fired off a hail of bullets at the crowd of poachers. Matt and Sissy stared with shock, Nyx with awe. Ryker simply sighed before getting into his seat and starting the car.

"Die, you sons of bitches!" Shikarou roared with a nearly manacles laugh as his bullets tore into the flesh of many poachers who were dropping like flies. Their numbers were already reduced to about two-thirds of their original members and some even ran away to save their own skins. Shikarou fired the minigun in a large sweeping motion, he effectively dispatched more poachers that way rather than aiming at one at a time. Some of the bullets even overpentrated the bodies and tore into the unsuspecting poachers behind them. Either way, it was a massacre.

"We need to go." Ryker announced as Shikarou laughed once more.

 _"Hold on!"_ Shikarou said as he fired the minigun in a large arc again _, "Just about done anyways. Man, these things are fun._ Shikarou then let out a laugh as he suddenly separated the barrels of the minigun into six different pieces. The remaining poachers wondered what he was doing. Their question was quickly though when they glowed black. Finally, they lined themselves up in a large circle around Shikarou and spun around with great speed. However, before the poachers got the chance to even try and understand what was happening, dozens and dozens of shadow bullets fired from the size barrels and within moments, every poacher, now all dead, were peppered with bullet holes. The walls, vehicles, and doors included. With a sigh, Shikarou ran outside as the minigun barrels fell to the floor. The black glow died from them and when Shikarou found Ryker in his car, his expression showed only major surprise. The passenger door opened and Shikarou stiffly took his seat, giving the interior of the car a look.

"There's a bloody helicopter above us!" Nyx suddenly announced. Ryker didn't even hesitate to slam his foot down on the gas pedal and they raced down the road. Not even a couple of seconds later, an explosion went off at the spot the car was just parked at.

"The hell was that?!" Matt yelled when he looked at the explosion in Ryker's rear view mirror.

"From the way it angled towards us when we took off, I'd say it's a heat-seeking missile." Ryker replied, reaching out with his mind in a ten-mile radius. It took a few seconds, but he found Aurora and Ammy on the road not far from their current positions.

"Found them yet?" Shikarou asked as he rubbed his hand across the dashboard of the car.

"About a mile ahead of us. While I drive, do you mind dispatching the incoming hostile around us?" Ryker asked as six cars, three on either side, closed in on them. The car suddenly lurched to the left and then to the right when Ryker overtook a civilian's car. This happened several more times, most of them were very close calls in Matt and Nyx's opinions. Another car came into view ahead of Ryker and it was going too slow. He had to turn ahead so when the chance came, he pressed down onto the clutch and pulled his e-brake as he pulled the wheel sharply to the left, into the turn. He didn't pull the e-brake for more than a second and when he let go, the rear wheels of his car locked up though as he released the clutch and floored the gas pedal again as well as letting go of his steering wheel just a little bit.

The result of his actions caused the car to slide as he pressed down on the clutch again. He then pulled the e-brake once more before letting go somewhat quickly afterwards. Ryker finally released the clutch and accelerates, letting the steering wheel turn naturally to the center though not letting go of it.

Matt and Nyx held on for dear life as the car drifted into a turn, narrowly evading another missile from the poacher's helicopter. Sissy was actually enjoying herself, the entire ride was like a really fun roller-coaster to her. Shikarou was simply surprised at the Fenrir racing-like skills and wondered if Ryker either picked them up over the years while he was gone or that he just never mentioned or used them in the military.

"Now would help, Shikarou. Try to keep the collateral damage to the minimum." Ryker stated as he suddenly braked really hard. One of the enemy cars was behind him and they didn't have time to move out of the way before Ryker's rear bumper slammed into their front, causing them to lose control of their car and crash into a wall. A poacher was thrown from the car most likely because the lack of seat belt use, and smashed into the wall. The result was a bloody smear on the wall along with some broken bones.

"Right, right." Shikarou finally answered as he pulled out his hand cannon. He rolled down the window and leaned his upper body put of it, Turing around at the waist before firing several rounds at their chasers. While he did that, Ryker began inputting a long code into the touchscreen interface below his radio.

"What are you doing?" Sissy asked, her curiosity piqued when she suddenly saw a large outline of the entire city streets. The street they were on was highlighted and blinked slowly before they turned into another street. Now, a different street on the layout was highlight and it blinked slowly like the last.

"Hacking into the traffic system." Ryker said before blinking and touching a stretch on the map which glowed with a rapid pulse of color." Aurora and Amaterasu are there, it'd be easy to catch them if I shut off any interfering traffic lights." When he mentioned Aurora and Ammy, a red dot appeared on the rapid-blinking street on the map and it moved somewhat quickly, meaning that the car the two were in was speeding quite past the speed limit. _It's not like I'M not destroying the speed limit as well._ Ryker thought before giving Shikarou a mental heads-up.

Shikarou got the message and fired at the incoming missile. He fortunately hit it and the missile moved around erratically before finally exploding in the air. Shikarou then refocused his attention on the enemy cars, now four, and fired at them. He managed to hit one in the tires which caused it to spin out of control. The car hit a curb and ended up flipping over, skipping across the road before coming to a skidding stop. The poachers inside crawled their way out of the car but, they didn't notice the fluid leaking around them. A spark ignited from the car's headlight and when it made contact with the fluid, the entire spot went up in flames with a small explosion.

The interface screen flashed a bright green before showing Ryker the controls on the traffic lights. He gave a small smirk before pressing one that was stationed ahead of Aurora and Ammy's position on the left. He watched the dot stop and turn to the right at the traffic light and gave a smile of success. As Ryker turned into the next street, he altered the traffic lights ahead of himself which allowed him to speed down the road without any difficulty at the intersections.

"They're just up ahead." Nyx commented to himself as he watched their dot move closer to the red dot. From there, Nyx immediately figured out that Ryker was manipulating the target car into turning down the street towards them which led mean that they would meet somewhere in the middle. However, before that could work Ryker would have to change a few more traffic light settings.

"Got rid of the cars." Shikarou suddenly announced before settling down. They turned to see fiery upturned cars and wondered how he did it in such a short time. "Ran out of bullets so I had to use my powers... Took the fun out of it though." Their silent question was answered.

"We need to do something about the helicopter." Matt said in a forced calm tone. He jolted when another missile barely missed them. It was only because Ryker passed a random building that was on fire. The missile changed its course due to the high heat and went there instead. The building behind them ended up collapsing and whether or not anyone was in it was a mystery to them.

Matt looked at Ryker and Shikarou, hoping to find that they already had a solution to their helicopter problem. However, he only saw Shikarou's nonchalant shrug and Ryker's emotionless stare at the road.

In Ryker's eyes, he saw the entire map of the vita streets. From a third person point of view, he saw their dot moving down the road they were on and ahead of them on a different street, Aurora and Ammy were getting closer though they didn't head into his direction yet. However, that was quickly changed when he altered more traffic lights and caused them to turn into another road, which in turn would force them to turn into the road Ryker's group was on. Then, his plan began to unfold. The enemy helicopter's position blinked orange behind them and the map showed an orange attack vector that led to Ryker's car. It then disappeared before repeating the action within short intervals. Another vector was present, though it was black and came from Ryker's dot. Ryker slowly nodded to himself as the red dot closed in and his vector pointed at three different points at the red dot. It then showed Ryker's dot turn slightly in a circle next to the red dot and peel away down the road before the red dot disappeared.

The next alternative of his plan showed that his attack on the enemy car failed. It then showed him pulling a u-turn though a rapid blinking vector from the helicopter showed a risk in being hit by the missile. Ryker shook his head, he didn't like the second plan.

His third alternative showed him slowing down and letting the helicopter catch up to them. It then showed a small black dot move from his position to the helicopter. The helicopter's dot turned black then his mental plan showed that the two black dots would corner the red dot but showed a countdown timer above the helicopter's position. _The helicopter needs to refuel soon._ he thought.

He decided to go with his first alternative and nodded to himself when it showed that if he failed the attack, the enemy's car would either crash, their own car would get hit by a missile due to the fact that it would by fired upon by then, or that when the two dots made contact as planned, either cars might be shoved away with too much force which would cause them to crash into the surrounding buildings or roadside objects. The plan didn't show any other cars since Ryker planned for only his own car and the enemy's car to be in the road due to him changing the traffic signals. He then planned for back-up plans should his first alternative fail and added back-up plans to the back-up plans and so on.

His mind snapped back to reality and he suddenly jerked his steering wheel to the right, avoiding the missile though the impact caused the car to skid out of control for a second before Ryker regained control of it.

"What are we going to do?" Matt asked, getting slightly annoyed with their silence.

"I decided to go with my first plan, Matt. If things go well, the helicopter would be taken out in the end." Ryker replied while keeping an eye on both the map interface and the helicopter behind them.

"Wait, your first plan? How many others do you have?"

"Excluding the back-up plans, I have two other major alternatives though chances of them succeeding are low." They evaded another missile. "The second plan has a 62.8% chance of succeeding and the third plan has only 52.4% chance of succeeding."

"... The first plan?"

"80.9% chance." the four stared at him and he didn't notice until he could practically feel their eyes boring into his back. "Is there a problem?"

"How do you even calculate the probability of us succeeding? Do you have a computer mind or something?" Sissy asked though actually considered the possibility.

"Well, you'd have to consider all possible factors and such in the plan. Then, you'd have to calculate the chance of one factor failing and see if it would cause any other of the factors to-."

"We're getting close!" Nyx said as he gestured to the map. Ryker stopped his explanation, much to Sissy's displeasure and Matt's relief, and made a few more changes to the traffic lights before speeding down the road.

 _Forty-three seconds until point of contact and counting._ Ryker thought, much like a computer as Sissy had suggested. The map showed them that the red dot turned into their road and Ryker began doing more calculations in his head. Suddenly, he took a deep breath before gunning down the road. _Aurora? Do you hear me?_

 _Ryker?!... drugged me... suppression sedative... Ammy.. crying.._ her replies were weak in connection and Ryker surmised that it was the suppression sedatives that she mentioned.

 _Listen to me, Aurora, we don't have much time. I need you to be in the passenger seat. If you already are, don't move but make sure to hold onto Ammy as securely as you can. Take off your seat belt and lean close to the window and if you can, make sure the driver doesn't change your route._

 _...don't know... your planning but... trust y-... our lives.._ Ryker sent her a warm feeling through his mental connection, grateful that they have faith in him. He then turned serious once more and up ahead, he spotted the car the two were in.

Like planned, he saw Aurora in the passenger seat though she was slightly limp. Ammy was the same way but she was secure in Aurora's arms, the latter had to strain a lot to move her arms. The driver didn't seem to notice that anything was off so a distraction wasn't needed. Raking another deep breath, Ryker turned to face Shikarou and the others. "Shikarou, get in the back seat. Everyone, brace yourselves and seat belts on." he told them.

"H-Hey. What are you planning to do?" Nyx asked, growing nervous at the sight of Ryker being slightly nervous. Ryker remained silently but they did as they were told. Sissy had to secure herself on Matt's lap though that wasn't uncomfortable for either of them. However, Sissy did cause Matt to let out a small and inaudible groan when she jumped due to another missile hitting an empty car behind them.

They let out a gasp when Ryker pulled out one of his pistols. He accelerated a little more and within a few seconds they were already really near the enemy car. Ryker made sure his window was rolled down and with another deep breath, this one with a nervous exhale, he reached out his window with his gun hand and fired at the oncoming car. "What are you doing?! You're going to hit them!" Shikarou said as Nyx was about to jump in.

"Their cars are bullet proof everywhere except for four spots." Ryker said as he continued to fire. They watched with apprehension as he fired his pistol, their faces then showed immense horror when he managed to take out the front right tire of the enemy car. In response, the driver lost control and with the front left wheel remaining, the car was forced to spin out towards the right on the road. At that moment, a missile was fired from the helicopter behind them but they realized that there was nothing else for it to hit but them... Ryker thought otherwise. _Chances of success rising, falling, rising,... 84-87 perce-78 percent..._

Time slowed again when Ryker swerved the car and hit a bump, causing them to spin as well though to the left as Ryker controlled it. Matt and Nyx were screaming for their lives and Sissy was cheering as if she was having the time of her life. Shikarou was trying to keep his head from hitting the passenger seat as well as trying to block his ears at the same time from the sounds of Matt and Nyx screaming.

 **With Conner...**

Conner widened his eyes in surprise when he saw the target black car spin out. He wondered what had happened but dismissed it, figuring that the missile would destroy them before he would get the chance to figure out. "Lower our altitude. Hover above the road." he told the pilot who nodded at the order. The helicopter descended until its landing stands were nearly touching the road. They watched as the missile made its way closer and closer to the targets and with a wide smile, Conner relaxed back in his chair. "To think that I thought you were going to kill me."

What he saw next nearly made him gouge out his eyes in disbelief and frustration. The car spun right into his lackey's car and the impact caused the target car to spin back onto the right lane and regain control. However, the missile went for his lackey's car instead and the car exploded when contact was made.

"WHAT THE FUCK?! HOW IN THE FUCKING HELL DID YOU DO THAT?! HOW IN THE MOTHERFUCKING HELL DID. YOU. DO THAT!" Conner continued to rage on in his seat and scared his pilot a little. "THEY JUST KILLED THEIR FRIENDS SO WHY THE HELL DID THEY DO THAT?!" When he finally calmed down, he gave the pilot a dark glare. "Fire. Another one." he huffed.

"S-Sir, we ran out of ammunition."

"..." Conner sighed and reached over to the driver side door. He opened it and without further explanation, kicked out the pilot who landed with only a few scratches on the road. He took over the controls and pushed forward on the throttle, speeding towards the target car. He then saw with shock as the car suddenly braked and spun around, braking for about half a second before reversing down the road. He watched with amazement as they managed to avoid oncoming obstacles and people crossing the street. However, he narrowed his eyes at the driver who in turn, returned the look. The driver then pulled out another pistol and with both pistols, fired at Conner. The poacher had little time to react and managed to move the helicopter away. However, he felt a searing pain in his shoulder and terrifyingly, his neck. Conner widened his eyes and grabbed his throat, he began to choke on his blood and ended up coughing some up onto the control systems and such. While his hands were on his throat, the throttle moved on its own accord and sent the helicopter spiraling away.

The pilot sighed and dusted himself off. He then pulled out his phone and was relieved to find that it wasn't broken. "Need to call reinforcements." he muttered as he brought the phone up to his ear. He then stiffened and looked around, he heard whipping sounds and they seemed to be coming from above. He then saw the helicopter spiraling towards him and only had time to let out a yell before he was cut off... literally. The blades sliced him apart at his forehead and at his shoulders before they made contact with the ground and sent shrapnel into the air. The helicopter rolled across the ground, crushing the pilot, and continued to do so towards a family of Charizard. One Charizard, the biggest of the five, reared up and sent a **Dragon Rage** at it. The helicopter let out a small squeal of string metal before the ball of draconic power pierced it.

 **With Ryker and the group...**

They watched the helicopter erupt in flames and relaxed.. well, Ryker relaxed. In the back, Nyx and Matt continued to shake with their eyes wide and Shikarou was massaging his head since it had hit the ceiling a couple of moments before. On the passenger seat, Aurora was on her back with Ammy on her stomach, both shaking in shock and slightly panic as they gave a look to Ryker. They all watched him let out a sigh and lean back against his chair, he then looked over at his mate and Ammy and gave them a smile.

"Rescue complete." he stated with a weary tone, relieved that his plan worked out. More silence went on and it wasn't until Nyx spoke up when everyone began to calm down just a little bit.

"That just happened! THAT JUST HAPPENED! That blooming plan of yours worked, I need to take a piss now." the Umbreon announced. He was referring to what happened when the two cars made contact. Ryker had spun the car into the other and at the brief moment of contact, the impact was hard enough to eject Aurora and Ammy from their seat and into the passenger seat of Ryker's car which then pulled away before the missile came.

"My calculations were enough then." Ryker replied as he gave a small yawn, censoring Nyx's language for Ammy.

"What the hell goes on in your mind when you think ahead?" Matt asked, barely refraining from sounding panicked.

"Too much for most of you to handle." Ryker answered as the Fenrir looked over at Shikarou. "We need to get Roark to pull some strings and clean this up for us." he told him, gesturing to the road with the burning helicopter as well as referring to the rest of the dead poachers. Shikarou nodded and pulled out a phone. While he waited for Roark to pick up, Ryker looked over at Aurora and Ammy and gave them another warm smile. They returned the action and Aurora hugged him, tears fell from her eyes as she noticed that the sedative had just wore off. Ammy crawled over to Ryker and Sar on his lap, whimpering and nuzzling his stomach lovingly. Unexpectedly, when they looked up to see his face, they found him asleep with a content expression. Seeing this, Aurora let out a small laugh while Ammy tried to wake her father up by pawing at his stomach.

"There goes our driver." Matt joked, finally calmed down enough. "I don't know how to drive stick. What about you guys?"

"I can." Aurora said as she got up and out of the car. She then walked over to the driver's side and opened the door. She then surprised all of them by carefully lifting Ryker and placing him on the passenger seat while Ammy sat on the center console. "Not bad, if I do say so myself. If he can do that to me, then I can do so to him." she added as she rubbed her arms. She then sat down and put the car in drive before cruising down the road.

"-off the side of the ride...Military equipment and vehicles including tanks and helicopters... There's a totalled one on the road.. No.. No, sir... Alpha is just as well... No, he would not like personal bodyguards and neither would I... Yes, Echo is great as well, we're all fine... Thank you, sir." Shikarou then hung up and let out a relaxed sigh as he settled even further into his seat.

"Are you sure we can just leave? Don't we have to stay behind and stuff?" Matt asked.

"Nah, we don't have to stay behind. The military's got it. Besides, what could we do but to tell them what happened? We can't do much except for maybe help get rid of the bodies but not much else." Shikarou responded as he leaned forward and took a look at Ryker. "I'm surprise he didn't pass out earlier. That bullet to the head and knife to the chest should've quickened the process... Hey, his breathing is getting slow again."

At that moment, the car screeched to a stop. Then, they turned around and peeled away for the Pokémon Center. Sure, they could've used their healing abilities. However, they didn't have much experience with healing wounds such as the ones Ryker sustained.

 **The next day, afternoon...**

"I'm just fine, Aurora! You don't have to-!" Ryker sidestepped as Aurora barreled past him. He then ran and vaulted over the couch, looking to see Aurora who gave a small growl.

"I just want to double check! What if they missed something? You took a bullet to the head and a stab to the heart, damn it!" she shot back as she ran over to him. Ryker ran around the couch to avoid her then grabbed a chair and threw it at her. Aurora simply batted it away, breaking it and fired off several **Ice Beams** to try and get him to stay in one place. Ryker brought up a flame wall and defended himself from the attack.

"That's the fifth chair they broke." Sissy commented as they watched the scene. Sissy, along with the rest of them, were sitting at the kitchen table whilst watching Aurora try to subdue Ryker. The two were going at it for a while and already, there were two broken vases, a broken window, several frozen spots on the floor and walls, a few scorch marks, and a hole on the ceiling. Now, there was also five broken chairs. Ryker had just came back from the infirmary and was sporting a bandage on his head as well as one on his chest.

"Why can't he just sit still and let her check him?" Shikarou asked, noticing Ammy make her way on Nyx's back. The Umbreon didn't mind. In fact, he welcomed it and laughed as they both watched the Fenrir and Akirari go at it.

"Oh, it's not the check up that's keeping him from letting her." Nyx said as he ducked. A couch went over his head and crashed into the oven, putting it out of commission. "Usually, whenever he gets moderately hurt or more, she would give him a check and.." Nyx shivered. "she would give a very long lecture followed by constant eagle-eye watching for a couple of weeks. Now you see why our scary bloke over there is trying to avoid her, if she gets a hold on him, he wouldn't get anything done at all."

Shikarou and the other two winced. Ammy simply gave a canine form of giggling which consisted of guttural noises along with some yips. "Get over here!" Aurora yelled as she made another tackle at Ryker. Ryker simply jumped and avoided her, ending with Aurora sliding on her stomach to the wall. He then ran to the opposite wall, near the suite's balcony door. He then looked around and tried to look for anything to defend himself with against her. There were no more chairs and there wasn't anything else that could be thrown save for some electronics though he left those alone. He then heard a rising growl and looked up. He then paled.

The group watched as Aurora tackled Ryker through the balcony door, sending shards of glass to the floor outside and the door frame hanging on a single hinge.

 **A half hour later...**

"I still don't know why you had to check me over." Ryker huffed, crossing his arms as he handed Matt enough money to pay for the broken furniture and appliances.

"Well, what do you expect? I love you and I worry for you." Aurora replied as she guided Ryker's head to her lap. Ryker sighed and looked up at her face.

"And I'm grateful for that. I just don't want to be held down after your checkups. I'm not the type to sit around and do nothing, it's not like I'm going to end up hospitalized right afterwards." Aurora gave him a look. "Alright, that _may_ happen on a mission or quest but not as likely when we're like this." At that moment, Ammy appeared and sat on his stomach before yipping at Aurora.

 _Way to go, Mommy! Now, Daddy won't get hurt anymore!_ she cheered as she curled up and rested her muzzle on Ryker's chest. Aurora giggle as Ryker let out a defeated sigh.

"See? Ammy gets it."

"She's not the one in this position, now is she?" Aurora smacked his forehead and sighed as she leaned back against her pillow.

"Suck it up, you can battle your way through countless hordes without a problem so you should be able to deal with this." she retorted. Ryker simply rolled his eyes and then closed them before tearing off the bandage from his head. It revealed that his head was completely unscathed though the bandage had evidence of his injury. He had already took off the one on his chest and disposed of it when they first came into their room. He did the same with the head bandage as he did with the one that used to be on his chest, he burned it.

After several more moments of silence, Aurora yawned and began polishing her canines. Afterwards, she began picking at the cuticles of her nails. "It's going to get late soon. Any thoughts on what should we have for dinner?" she asked. When she didn't get a reply, she looked down to see Ryker asleep once more. She sighed and smiled warmly before bending down and touched her forehead to Ryker's. "You've done so much for us, I don't think we can ever repay you, love. I'm so sorry... Just give me a chance to grow stronger so that I can help carry some of your burdens."

"Your love as well as Ammy's are payment enough. Don't worry about it, dear." Ryker suddenly replied, he opened his eyes and let out a small yawn. "What time is it?" Aurora was shocked at first, she didn't expect for him to hear her. She then mentally smacked herself in the head when she figured out that she had probably woke him up by simply talking even though her tone was that of a whisper.

"Half past six. You were asleep for only about a couple of hours." Aurora replied. Ryker nodded and looked down to find that Ammy was awake as well. Actually, she was quite energetic as if she never went to sleep in the first place. Unknown to him and Aurora, Ammy was staring at her father the entire time because her already loving feelings for him had grown exponentially. He went through practically an army to save them! Ammy loved her ear parents a lot, but it felt right to think Ryker as her father. Consciously knowing this, Ammy crawled up to Ryker and nuzzles his face.

 _I love you, Daddy. You too, Mommy._ she yipped. Though she was staring at Ryker with admiration the entire time, she felt the same way with Aurora who protected her during their ordeal away from Ryker.

"And I, you, little one." Ryker replied as he scratched her behind the ear. Ammy let out a small cry of affection and tilted her head to allow him better access.

"I love you too, Ammy!" Aurora said with a great smile before picking Ammy up and hoisting her into the air. Ammy yipped excitedly and her mental giggles resonated within their heads as Aurora threw the pup gently into the air then catching her. Aurora did this for a few more times and on the last catch, she kissed Ammy and received the same action from the pup before they settled down.

Ryker got up from his headrest, Aurora's lap, and stretched before noticing that Nyx was still asleep on his pillow. The Umbreon didn't like how the couch felt and had planned on going outside to find a branch to sleep on. However, Aurora offered him a spot on their bed and when Nyx declined the offer, Ryker reassured him by saying they have an extra pillow. So, Nyx was allowed to sleep in their room as long as he was in his bestial form which allowed all of them to fit on the bed. The night before, Ammy was sleeping against Nyx's belly. The Seeker out had apparently warmed up to him and Nyx responded by acting as if he was her uncle. To put it simply, everyone was happy.

Ryker listened to Nyx's heart rate and found that the Umbreon was going to wake shortly. Figuring it wouldn't make a difference, Ryker reached out to wake him up. He then stopped, he noticed that Nyx had an ecstatic expression on his face. To top it off, Nyx was also bucking his hips forward at random intervals. Deciding against waking him up, Ryker let out a sigh and decided to lift Nyx with his shadows and placed the Umbreon on a comfortable spot outside on a tree branch.

"Why did you have to do that?" Aurora asked. She didn't notice Nyx's unconscious actions and was therefore curious as to why Ryker did what he did.

"He was about to ruin the pillow and possibly, our bed." he replied. With that, they decided to leave the room and get with the others to try and decide what to have for dinner.

On the tree branch, Nyx continued to buck his hips in his sleep. He then let out a gasp as he suddenly climaxed all over the branch below him. Some of his essence dripped onto the dirt below and a couple of drops made it onto his stomach. A few moments later, he woke up with a weightless feeling. "That," Nyx said as he yawned, "was an absolutely ace dream... Oh, crap." Nyx finally noticed the mess he made and inwardly winced to himself. He then sighed and got up on his feet. "Got to get rid of the evidence... I also need a bloody shower." That evening was one of Nyx's very rare wet dreams. He didn't get them often, but they usually lasted very long to his liking.

Nyx cleaned up and looked down to make sure his member was out of sight. The purple rod throbbed one more time before retreating back into his sheath. With a relieved sigh, Nyx flew back into the room. However, he did wonder how he got outside in the first place.

Later, the entire group was in the kitchen conversing with one another. Aurora noticed Nyx looked really content but didn't voice her curiosity. Instead, she decided to listen in while the others talked. Sissy suggested they should go to a restraint that night while Matt thought they should just eat at the Pokémon Center at the lower floor. Either suggestion was fine with the rest of them though the two were actually arguing over it.

"How hungry are all of you then?" Ryker suddenly asked, stopping the arguing and other conversations. They looked at each other for a moment and the act amused Ryker since he thought that apparently, they all knew what the other wanted.

"Stomach growling hungry." Shikarou replied and the rest of the group nodded with him. Ryker shook his head whilst drinking water. When he sat it down, he checked the time and saw that it was already a couple of hours into the evening.

"Then wouldn't it make sense to go to a restaurant? It's getting late and we'd still have to get ingredients to make food. Either way, I'm fine with both options since I'm not that hungry. For all of you, it's either go to a restaurant now and spend a little more money, or grow hungrier while shopping for ingredients as well as waiting even longer before the food is actually ready." When he received no reply, Ryker nonchalantly tilted his cup of water around and watched the ice cubes clatter against each other. He then noticed that they were melting at a quicker rate then normal. However, the moment he set the cup back down on the table, the ice cubes stopped melting as fast. _Inner fire is growing._ he thought.

Next thing they knew, a large high-pitched growling sounded from Ryker's position. He received looks of confusion and in response, he lifting up Ammy from his lap as the Seeker pup gave them an embarrassed look. _I'm really hungry. Daddy, can we go eat now?_

Due to Ammy's question, they decided to go and eat at a restaurant. They quickly found one across the street, The Stuffed Munchlax. There were rumors of the eatery being famous for their meats as well as for their waffles-and-chicken selection. The group went inside and waited near the entrance where a podium with a piece of paper stood. Behind it, a female Pikachu in her anthro form in blue and yellow uniform stood with a bright smile.

"Hello! Welcome to The Stuffed Munchlax where meat isn't meat unless it's prepared at The Stuffed Munchlax's kitchen. Do you have a reservation?"

"No, we do not. But, you can get us a table, right?" Shikarou responded, flashing a smile. To their amusement, though Aurora and Sissy rolled their eyes, the woman blushed at Shikarou's smiled and nodded.

"Y-Yes, there's a booth table near the windows. W-Would that be fine?" Shikarou gave another smile and nodded and she nearly brought up a hand to her forehead as if she was going to faint. She led them to their booth of which Nyx and Ammy sat in their bestial forms. Nyx was next to the window and across from him, Sissy sat there next to Matt and then Shikarou. Next to Nyx, Aurora sat with Ammy on her lap and Ryker took his seat on the outside across from Shikarou.

"Please wait a moment and a waiter or waitress will be right with you." the Pikachu woman announced.

"Thank you, and here's something for your hospitality." Shikarou said as he handed her a small amount of cash. She reddened and Shikarou responded by winking at her. The Pikachu woman then squeaked and let out a small spark from her electricity pouches before turning completely red and leaving.

"Wow, you did a number on her, mate." Nyx commented with a laugh.

"What?" Shikarou said as he gave a genuine look of innocence. "I'm just trying to be nice. If you think I'm flirting, you're wrong." Nyx let out a laugh and shook his head. But then, Ryker have the Umbreon a look.

"He's not kidding, Nyx. His heart has already been captured." Ryker's statement caused Nyx to calm down and the rest of the group, save for Ammy who shifted into her anthro form and was currently enjoying herself by coloring in a coloring book, looked at Shikarou in surprise.

"You already have a mate?" Aurora asked before looking at Ryker with confusion when the Fenrir let out a small laugh in response to her question. She looked back at Shikarou who was scratching the back of h8s head with a small smile.

"Not really. Reform your question a bit." he replied. This only got them more curious and they continued to ask him more questions until Sissy asked a question that made both Ryker and Shikarou laugh.

"Is it a crush?" Sissy asked. "Ooh, or is it more specifically, infatuation?"

"You're all not getting it." Ryker said as he spotted a waiter come their way. The waiter was a human and had a very neat look. His hair was styled cleanly and his uniform was spotless.

"Hello, there! Welcome to The Stuffed Munchlax! May I take your orders?" Ryker apologized to the waiter and asked if he could give them another few minutes. The waiter agreed and went back to his station as the group picked up their menus. Later, the waiter came back and they each gave their respective orders. Ryker had planned on sharing his meal with Ammy but Aurora beat him to it. She wanted to feed Ammy for once and he complied.

"So what is it? Are you gay or something?" Matt asked once the waiter went away. Ryker choked on his water at the question and Aurora had to pat his back a few times. Shikarou responded similarly, but with soda and he had to pound his chest a few times before answering.

"No, I'm not gay! I'm not like that at all, not that I have something against homosexuals. No, no, I'm FAR from gay." Shikarou replied with a chuckle. Ryker then noticed that they were growing frustrated with Shikarou's elusive answers and sighed audibly.

"He has two mates, both non-pokémon though they're not human either." Ryker announced as he took another gulp of his water.

Silence.

The waiter came back with their orders and then left to bring their corresponding condiments. After leaving, Shikarou took a bite out of his grilled meat. "What now?" Aurora asked.

"Yep. Yoshino and Ikaros. I miss them but I can't go to them until they arrive from Unova."

"The former used to be with us when we first became Special Forces. Shikarou, here, was my original partner when they called us a "Two-Man Army." Later though, both he and Yoshino retired while Ikaros was still with me in Squadron Five. Then, she left too to join them before Shikarou left to do the quest and that left me alone for a while until Balto and the others joined. Speaking of which, do you know how they've been doing?" Ryker explained though the question was directed at Shikarou.

"Jeanne told me that they're doing well and are on their way here." He chuckled. "Ikaros planned on flying here with Yoshino in her arms but Jeanne convinced her not to since the strain would be too much." As he explained, the rest of the group, Ammy still coloring, looked at him with shock. It was not common that someone would have multiple lovers. It wasn't considered a bad thing and neither it was looked down upon. Even still, very few had harems.

"Wait, wait, wait. You have two mates and they're fine with that?" Matt asked and received a nod in response.

"I suggest you all to eat now before your food gets cold." Ryker suddenly announced. At the mention of food, Ammy finally remembered her hungry and yipped at Aurora who smiled before feeding her.

After a while, Ryker finished eating and looked at Matt who was still asking Shikarou questions. "So, what are they like?" he asked.

"Lovelies." Shikarou replied as he drank more soda. "They are more than I could ever ask for. Yoshino likes to play and joke around a lot whole Ikaros is more calm and somewhat serious. They're both really loving though and I love them with my all as they are the same towards me. Imagine my shock though when they came up to me and asked me out at the same time. At that point, my life changed for the better. I always had a, yes, a crush, on both of them that quickly turned into love. However, I didn't want to ask one over the other and planned on just leaving it alone. Lucky me, they had already discussed about it and both confessed their love to me... Happiest day of my life." Shikarou answered.

Shikarou then noticed that his cup was empty and when their water came by to check up on them, he had it refilled. This time though, he downed the cup in a single gulp and let out a small burp of which he covered with his hand.

"You said that they aren't pokémon neither they are human. So, are they wolves like you?" Sissy asked.

"Well," Shikarou said as he began to chew on the ice cubes that were left over in his cup, "Yoshino is a half-lynx, half-fox while Ikaros is a cross between an angel and wolf...But she can act so devilish sometimes." Shikarou answered though he muttered the last part.

"'Angel'? Angels are real?" Matt asked.

"Whether or not you believe they are real is up to you, Matt. Same goes for the rest of you. Shikarou and I do though. We've seen some before. How they came to be, no one knows. There's no evidence that they were created by God and they weren't create by Arceus. Who knows? They might have originated from another dimension or something along those lines and came into ours. For Ikaros, her mother was a wolf and her father was the fabled Angel of Death, Azrael. And indeed, he is her father. I met him once before and though he was hospitable, the air around him was literally dead. Fortunately, he could manipulate it and suppress his aura so that others could bear being near him. Apparently, Ikaros' mother was on the verge of death and Azrael came to collect her soul but fell in love with her. Did I get that right?" Ryker stated before looking at Shikarou once more.

"That's about it. When he came to collect her soul, Ruby told him what had happened to her when he asked. She got caught in a trap by hunters and they didn't even want her pelt. Instead, they tortured her and cut her with knives. When she told him this, he became curious and asked about her life. When she did this he fell for her and she him since he took the form of a wolf to make her comfortable. He ended up saving her with a fragment of his powers as payment. Then, they confessed to each other and had Ikaros."

"Amazing...You said he took the form of a wolf? What does he truly look like?" Aurora asked, looking to her right to see Nyx and Ammy coloring together. The Umbreon finished his food as well and decided to help Ammy color the pictures out of boredom.

"Yeah, he wasn't truly a wolf. He used to look like a human, actually. That is, a human with skin like obsidian. However, when he got with Ruby, he gave up a fragment of his powers, his power to change form, and decided to stay in the form as a wolf forever."

"Why did he need to change form anyway?"

"To calm the dead. For example, a human dies and he goes to collect their soul. He looks human. A Legendary dies, I don't know, Deoxys, and he takes the form of a Deoxys. Really, would you want to see what looks like a human with pitch black skin with claws and gray eyes?"

"True," Aurora said before letting out a sigh as well as a small laugh, "but I've seen enough scary things in my life." Shikarou laughed in response and resumed eating. He then suddenly stopped eating and leaned back into his seat and gave them a weary look.

"Sometimes though, I just wish that my life would be a little less exciting, if you know what I mean." he stated, earning more laughter from the group though a skeptical look from Ryker.

"If that really was the case, you would have been gone a long time ago, Shikarou, don't act like you don't enjoy your life as it is." the Fenrir remarked. Shikarou scratched his chin with an amused smile then nodded to the group, eliciting laughter.

"Yeah, you're right. Damn it, hate it when you are." he muttered. He then resumed eating his food and the same went for the others.

Meanwhile, Aurora was having slight difficulties feeding Ammy who refused to eat. "Come on, Ammy, it's meat." Aurora tried as she offered the spoon to the pup. Ammy shook her head before making a chewing motion with her jaws.

 _I can't, Mommy._ Ammy said before letting out a small whine. This made Aurora confused and the Akirari looked over at Ryker for aid. The Fenrir gave the spoon a look before taking it from Aurora. He then took the chunk of grilled meat into his mouth and chewed, making Aurora give him an annoyed look.

"That's for Ammy, not you." she said, exasperated though she was secretly amused. Ryker nodded his head at her before depositing the gruel back onto the spoon and offering it to Ammy. Instantly, Ammy consumed the gruel and Aurora looked at the two with disbelief. "What? That's not fair. What's the difference between me feeding her and you feeding her?"

"Well, for one, she can actually chew and swallow the ones I give her." Ryker said with a chuckle, making Aurora facepalm with realization. "Another thing, she still can't chew hard solids yet, give her a month and she'll be able to." Aurora nodded in understanding and redid her efforts, she ended up successfully feeding Ammy a spoon and decided to happily continue with the act.

Nyx suddenly shuddered violently, through only Matt and Sissy noticed it since they were looking his way. They gave him a questioning look to which he responded by looking over at Ryker, the Umbreon shuddered once more before shaking his head. _I've figured it out. The bloody riddle he gave to the kidnapper._ he told them, Matt and Sissy raised their eyebrows in curiosity. Nyx gave them a look before settling his gaze on the Fenrir. _What is he? He is death incarnate._


	29. Review Overview

As I said in the last chapter, I may not continue on with this story due to the lack of reviews and likes and such. I mean, there are those handful or people (who I am thankful for), but I just wish there's more, you know? But then again, this is my first story up so maybe this is to be expected. With that being said, I would like to make a proposition. Remember Guest? The one who convinced me to put up the last chapter? This person suggested that I start a new story. SO, I'm thinking that I'll do just that. HOWEVER, the result will be determined by YOUR (that's right, you) opinions. Now, I'm open to some ideas or suggestions for a new story, but here is what I have so far.

 **With Light Comes Darkness** -Same characters, different plot and storyline. This story features Aurora, Ryker, Nyx, and a small handful of characters that will be chosen at either random or at your request. The setting is at a high-school and instead of going out on different adventures, our main characters will do the same, but during their time as students. Remember the University from LIMD? That's the one.

 **Blinding Light, Overwhelming Darkness** -This one includes only TWO of our main characters, Ryker and Aurora. With this one, Ryker is part of a kingdom's guard and Aurora just so happens to be loyalty. Major change: There's a chance that Ryker and Aurora won't get together as they had in the other stories.

 **Chaotic** -This story will be based off of SAO (Sword Art Online, for those who don't know) and another major change: There will NOT be pokemon. Also, Ryker and Aurora are normal humans, nothing supernatural in this story (unless you count the game they're playing).

Now, all of these are up for selection. If I don't get any feedback from you guys, then I won't do them. The most responses for a certain story will result in that story being put up. OR, if you guys want me to continue the current story, I'll just do that. Oh, and it is possible for a situation where I can simply end the current story with a last chapter and just put up a different story afterwards. Remember, this is all up to you guys. Just send an email to ShinyUmbreonEngland or give your answer in a review or PM. Also remember that I'm open to your ideas as well.

About the current story, I will not put up a new chapter until results come in. Or, I won't put in another chapter at all if those results end up with me making a new story. With the current story, the last chapter I posted is actually the last one that I finished. The next chapter is being worked on but depending on the results, it may or may not be done. Please try to give your answers or thoughts by the end of this week. If not, Axathr is signing off for a long while, haha. Again, thank you for taking the time to read my fanfic and let me tell you, the feeling is indescribable whenever I see someone actually reviewed or even better, followed or favorite the story, It's really encouraging for the non-writers out there who don't know the feeling. Anyways, later guys! Going on break for now.

OH! And before I forget, shout outs to Guest, Offthechain91, and PyroGrl94!


	30. Review Overview 2

So, from the feedback I've gathered, I would like to announce that I will NOT discontinue Light In My Darkness. There are actually a good handful of people who would like for it to go on. HOWEVER, the story will come to a conclusion. When? I'm not answering. I will say that the current arc in the story is the FINAL one. Meaning, the story will end after the main characters complete the League circuit.

Another thing, I will also simultaneously work on another story. The idea was proposed by ZonaryMoth(Guest). Back to the point, this story will NOT consist of our main characters in LIMD and it will be strictly pokemon, no crossovers. Here's the basic summary for it.

There's a Growlithe and he usually plays around with his friends and family in the pack. He does everything with them. One day, tragedy strikes and he suddenly unveils something that completely throws off Arceus. He does not know what it is, for it was something that dweeled within him since birth and it didn't make itself known until that tragic day...

So the plot is a journey-like type of thing and yes, the chapters will be around the same or slightly less than LIMD (for sure, at least 30 pages long each). Anyways, I want to thank all viewers of the story and I apologize for overreacting on the shortage of reviews on LIMD. I hope you all will continue to read my stories and hopefully, I'll attract some more viewers next time around.

Sorry, but no new chapter for LIMD this time. I am currently working on the new story write now. So, I will be officially be on vacation for LIMD but it won't be for too long, I promise you that. Shoutouts for TristanLeo, ZonaryMoth, nathnathn, Hello50 (I think I missed this person when he/she first came up), and holothewolf16! Oh, and fallenwolfe. This person gave me some advice as well and from now on, LIMD is tagged as crossover.


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